SINGAPORE AND THE THAI RAILWAY EXPERIENCES OF ...

SINGAPORE AND THE THAI RAILWAY
EXPERIENCES OF CAPTIVITY
1942 - 1945
Edward ("Ted") Chaplin
Singapore Royal Artillary (Volunteer),
Straits Settlement Volunteer Force
Written October/November 1945

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks are due to Sandy Lincoln (daughter of Lincoln Page, SRA(V), "D" Battalion) for the difficult job of
typing the original typescript. My father's handwriting was difficult to read, and the account was written in
pencil on both sides of thin airmail paper. Page numbers in the body of the text refer to the pages of the original
account.
In compiling the index, I have referred to "A Nominal Roll of the Volunteers", compiled by John Brown. This
excellent reference source has clarified many of the names. I have included in the index additional information
taken from the Roll, in the belief this will be helpful to readers. A question-mark used in square brackets
indicates any uncertainty about identify, although context points to these being the people mentioned in the text.
Corrections or confirmation would be gratefully received:
Elspeth Chaplin
9a Oakleigh Gardens, Whetstone, London, NW1 4RY
elspeth.chaplin@zsl.org
Acknowledgements, also, to Jonathan Moffatt for his support and several corrections to the text.
2.

Edward Chaplin
Born Calcutta, India 5 th January 1917. Died Crowborough, East Sussex 16.2.1998
Ted Chaplin arrived in Singapore in September 1938, where he was employed by Guthrie & Company. He
joined the Singapore Royal Artillary (Volunteers) in September 1938 (Gunner).
Volunteer No.: 13052
"Changi" POW no.: 4/2415, 3255, 4326
Imperial War Museum 1940 Directory: Overland 12/10/1942 ("D" Battalion)
1940: Private, No. 6 Section, "L.A." 6 Plat. "B" Company
"D" Battalion was sent from River Valley Road and Havelock Road camps in Singapore to Thailand on
12.10.42 (arrived Ban Pong 16.10.42)
Repatriated on H.M.Hospital Ship "Karoa"
His account was written in four parts to send to his mother after his release. It was written mainly in pencil on
both sides of Australian Red Cross Society airmail paper, on board HMHS "Karoa", from Singapore to Sydney,
Australia
Part 1: written 2.11.45; posted Fremantle:
Fall of Singapore - departure from Singapore (October 1942)
Part 2: written 10.11.45; posted Melbourne or Albany:
Departure from River Valley Road (12.10.42) – Tamuan (April 1945)
Part 3: typewritten in Australia, December 1945
Departure from Tamuan (28.4.45) - Japanese surrender and evacuation (Sept. 1945)
Part 4: typewritten in Australia, ~December 1945:
Singapore September/October 1945
Sailed from Sydney for England on the "Ranjitata" (NZ Shipping Co./P.&O) 2 nd February 1946
Married Alison Chilvers 1946. Continued employment for Guthries in KL, Ipoh, Penang and Singapore.
Returned to the UK ~1959, where he joined the Borneo Co.
3.

Extract of letter:
Written on board HM Hospital Ship "Karoa" between Singapore and Sunda Straits
Thursday, November 2 nd 1945
Dear Mother,
This will not be a long letter, but accompanying it will be part of a journal I am writing of the events of the past
4 years. A fortnight is to elapse before I reach Sydney and disembark, and I shall write for 2 hours daily and
cover as much narrative of events and impressions as I can. I shall post the first part of this when we reach
Fremantle and subsequent parts at Melbourne and Sydney. As I would like these kept as a record and reminder
to me of these past few years, will you please not destroy the journal, but keep it for me against the time I get
home.
We left Singapore at 3.00 p.m. on Monday and have almost reached the Sunda Straits between Java and
Sumatra. We travelled very slowly, at about 4 knots, yesterday so that we shall be able to pass through the
Straits in daylight. Four ships have already been lost since the end of the war in the straits due to mines and
great care is being taken that we do not encounter a similar fate. The hospital ship is the "Karoa", ex-B.I.S.N.
Co. mail ship on the run Calcutta to Singapore. She is a coal-burner and 32 years old and was converted into a
hospital ship in India. We are carrying 421 patients. The holds have been decked in and the majority of the
berths are in the tween-deck space. The more serious cases are in the old saloon on the promenade deck. The
nursing staff is composed of English sisters and Indian orderlies with English and Indian doctors. On previous
trips this ship has carried sick and wounded Jap. POWs to India. The sisters went on strike, but were ordered
by the colonel RAMC that, as Red Cross personnel, they were compelled to give the enemy sick and wounded
treatment, so they carried on. We are comfortably berthed with sheets and pillows on the palliases and the food
is good, cooked in, however, rather an uninteresting way. We are getting quantities of potatoes which we have
not had for so long and also chilled mutton and cabbage. I have made friends with 3 or 4 of the Australians –
we are of course predominantly Australian – and divide my time between reading, playing contract and, from
now on, in writing too. The majority of the patients, who by the way are really practically fit, spend most of
their time lying on their beds dozing. I have tried this, but it does not suit me. The sea air is relaxing but I
prefer to do my sleeping at nights.
I have had 2 tests made for amoebic dysentery, and I think it most probable that I shall be graded as fit for
immediate discharge when we get to Sydney. I was troubled for some months by stomach pains but, since the
course of sulphaguinidine, I have been feeling fit.
I am most anxious to get down to work again, but things really are in an appalling muddle in Singapore and the
British Military Government does not seem very keen to get out and make way for the civilians. It will
probably be about April before the Civil Government is back again in full force in Singapore, and until then no
private trading is permitted. There is, therefore, little point in my being in Singapore whilst the British Military
Administration is in charge. I had thought of offering my services to the Government, but it was obvious when
I got to Singapore that they just did not want any of the ex POWs and civilian internees to have a hand in
running things.
All my love,
Ted
4.

List of camps
15.2.42 Capitulation of Singapore at 8.00 p.m.
18.2.42 Arrived Changi Camp, Singapore
14.5.42 Marched River Valley Road Camp, Singapore building godowns; docks
12.10.42 Left Singapore by train
16.10.42 Arrived Ban Pong, Thailand
18.10.42 Marched from Ban Pong
19.10.42 March to Kanchanaburi
20.10.42 Rested
21.10.42 Marched
22.10.42 Rested Raja
23.10.42 Marched to Tandong
24.10.42 Marched to Tarso
27.10.42 ?Barge to Wampo Camp railway track and bridges
15.5.43 Train to Tarso
17.5.43 Marched to South Tonchan Camp
23.5.43 Marched to Bridge Camp
??? To Tonchan Central Camp
27.6.43 Barge to Kanu River Camp
28.6.43 Arrived Kanu River Camp
28.6.43 March to Kanu 2 (top camp) "Speedo". Rock drilling
& blasting
??? Hintock River Camp
??? Tonchan Central Camp (rest for a few days)
??? Bridges Camp (~2 wks) Bridges
??? Tonchan Central Camp (a few days)
??? Hintock River Camp Ballasting & clearing up
25.8.43 To Kinsyo Camp [Kinsayok] rebuild camp; build
railway station
2.12.43 Kinsyo Hospital
13.1.44 To Tarso Base Hospital [Tarsao/Tarsoa]
13.4.44 Departed Tarso
14.4.44 Train to Nakom Patom Hospital [Nakhon Pathom]
13.1.45 Lorry & barge to Tamuan Camp [Tamuang]
17.1.45 Tamuan Hospital
28.4.45 Train to Bangkok camp (godowns)(1 wk)
5.5.45 Truck to Lokburi (?Lopburi) Camp repair runway
6.5.45 Train to Takuri Camp [Takli/Takali] aerodrome; (well-digging)
16.8.45 Heard about the end of the War
23.9.45 Train to Bangkok
1.10.45 Air to Singapore
Oct/Nov HMHS 'Karoa' to Australia
5.

Part 1:
Written on board HMHS "KAROA" Between the Sunda Straits and Fremantle Nov. 2nd 1945.
Journal of Events from Dec. 1st 1941
Dec. 1st 1941. I was visiting De Vries the Dutch Jew manager of the Cathay Restaurant and
he announced that the volunteer mobilisation order was issued at 10.30 am. He himself had
been in "B" Company with me and was then in the Local Defence Corps. I learnt years later
from Major Bennett RAMC whilst at Tamuan in Thailand in April 1945 that both Mrs de
Vries and De Vries were on the counter espionage black list. I know that Mrs de Vries was a
German and whilst they were running the Cyrano (?) Restaurant in Orchard Road there had
been leakage of information of use to the enemy due to Army and other Service officers
talking too freely whilst in the restaurant. The bar tender - an Austrian - was also a suspect.
6.
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The particular information concerned the transfer of Bristol Blenheim bombers from Malaya
to the Middle East to counter German attacks in Egypt, but which left Malaya practically
without bombers. De Vries was mobilised in the L.D.C. and I saw him a few days later on
duty outside Guthrie and Co.'s office in Battery Road. I shall be interested to learn if the
suspicion of his pro-Axis views were justified or not.
I left the Cathay and went home, changed into Volunteer uniform and reported to the Drill
Hall, where we all joined together in the Mess and had a discussion. HMAS Canberra was
first off the Drill Hall in the Outer Roads. We were allotted several hours to report to our
firms and to make any necessary arrangements. L.P. Sly of Guthrie and Co. had left at 4.30
am for Australia by flying boat. P.J. (Peter) Bennett also of G. and Co. was on a ship sailing
for home to join up in England. He was a Lt. in the Volunteer Armoured Car Coy. and was
ordered to mobilise with the rest at the Drill Hall. So off the ship he came, bag and baggage.
Larry
Page 3
Sly got to Australia all right and returned to Malaya by the next 'plane. He joined the FMS
Volunteer Armoured Cars in Kuala Lumpur in which he was a Lt. having passed out of
OCTU in October. He was killed in Geylang Road, Singapore on the afternoon of the last
day (i.e. Feb.15th 1942). He was in charge of the armoured car on patrol and was proceeding
at a very low speed, about 4/5 mph. A Jap mortar section had been set up a few minutes
before and was ranging on the road. All this was observed by some men and an officer of the
9th Coast Regt. R.A., who were in a drain nearby. They did not fire on the Nips - "So as not
to give away their position" according to the officer. The Nips dropped a mortar bomb right
on the armoured car. All inside were killed. Their deaths were
Page 4
due to the incomprehensible action of the officer in charge of the section of 9th Coast. These
men could have wiped the Nip mortar team out without trouble for they had a Lewis gun.
Peter Bennett died of cholera at Kanu in July 1943. I was in a neighbouring camp and only
heard of it from John Craig who had been with Peter cutting bamboo at the time he became
unwell. He died in about 12 hours.

We moved out to our beach position on the afternoon of the 1st Dec.1941. Our section of 2
18-pdr. guns went to "The Grove" Katong near the Seaview Hotel. Colthart [Coltart] , our
officer, was on leave so we were under Sgt. Ritchie. We included:-
Gunner Welsh (John), died at Chungkai, Thailand
Bdr. Beohm (Arthur) Sgt. Ritchie
Gunner Helps (Harold) L/Bdr. Hoops (Dick)
" Page (Lincoln) L/Bdr. Colchester (Tiffy)
" Nassim (Arnold) L/Bdr. Butterfield (Charles)
" Baker (Sam) Gunner Davy (the Welshman) - from Muar
" Stogden (John) Bdr. Jennings (Charles), died in Chungkai
" Evans (Tom) Gunner Whitehead
L/Bdr. Kennedy Gunner Hough
Gunner Webb (Charles) myself
7.
Page 5
The gun positions were close together in concrete emplacements and the search light position
150 yards to the East connected by a telephone wire. We worked hard at getting ammunition
and stores together and dug slit trenches, which we revetted, and afterwards covered with
wood, which we got from around the position including a number of wooden doors. Mrs
MacPhail, who was running "The Grove" as a boarding house, complained that were breaking
up the house and she did all she could to obstruct us. We were given very poor quarters to
sleep in and were not permitted to use parts of the building. Things got to such a stage that
she was evicted and the whole building taken over by the Army for our use. On Wednesday
3rd we saw HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse, together with several destroyers, go past to
the Naval Base. The feeling that, now we had a strong naval unit for protection, Malaya
could withstand the expected onslaught, increased. We spent several days in
Page 6
perfecting the arrangement of the meagre equipment at our disposal. We tried digging slit
trenches whilst wearing gas-masks, in which I was a failure. I sharpened my army jack knife
to dagger sharpness. We did rifle drill and gun drill for long periods and retired early after a
few drinks. One evening on the order "Unload" Hough nearly blew Stogden's head off by
clearing the last round through the barrel instead of the rejector! Stogden is 6ft 7 ins tall and
was on Hough's left. I was behind Stogden at the time and my first reaction when the round
went off was to feel the muzzle of my rifle to see if it was warm and the round came from me.
Stogden staggered back into my arms. Colthart [Coltart], who by then had returned from
leave, was in charge, but was quite unperturbed and merely insisted in the future that we
should do rifle drill with the magazines in our pockets. We did 2 hours on guard and 4 hours
off throughout the day and night. We used to sleep with all our clothes and boots on and have
our rifles and equipment in bed with us. We tried several practice alarms and managed to get
into action within about 4 minutes. 2 minutes was the officially allotted time. My job was to
race up to the Lister
Page 7

and start it myself, and then rush up to the searchlight to be ready for the order, "Expose". I
was the operator on the searchlight for sweeping the sea to search for Jap landing craft. We at
the searchlight - that is Bdr. Kennedy, who was i/c and changed carbons and myself were in a
very exposed position so we asked for additional protection from machine gun fire, and we
spent a couple of days building up an earthwork in front of the searchlight, and behind which
we could crouch and still operate. On the night of Dec. 7th 1941 I was in bed as usual with
clothes and boots on when the alarm sounded at about 4.30 am of Monday morning, the 8th
of December. We rushed out to our positions and, as I went, I saw going up into
8.
Page 8
the air from the direction of the Naval Base strings of Bofor tracer. I thought they were
'flaming onions', and that we were having warlike games with some realism. And then came
the whistle and crash of bombs from the direction of the town, and we knew it was an actual
air raid. We got ready for action and then, as the planes were coming overhead, we went into
the slit trenches. The AA searchlights picked up 2 planes, which passed right overhead, but
apparently the AA fire was too short for they did not seem at all troubled. The AA still
seemed to be bursting at least 10,000 ft. too low. We heard afterwards that this was indeed
the case. So ended the first night of the War on S'pore, and the next morning we were told
that the Nips had landed at Kota Bahru at 1.30 am and yet all the lights of Singapore were
fully on 3 hours later. Fifth Column was suspected. We heard on the wireless at 9.30 am
Shenton Thomas announce the
Page 9
declaration of war. We also heard of the attack on Pearl Harbour. We were keyed up to
expect an attack on Singapore from the sea - nothing came. On Wednesday, fateful day for
Malaya, we heard the terrible news of the sinking by 70 Jap 'planes of the Prince of Wales
and the Repulse. Our spirits fell - and it was cold comfort to be told by Churchill over the
wireless "our hearts go out to you in Malaya tonight" Duff-Cooper spoke on the wireless and
we were told to expect even severer blows. We all felt that this could only mean the
subjection of Singapore and how right we were. But our spirits changed as the war went on.
News was 3/4 days delayed in reaching us and we learnt of the fall of Penang, Ipoh, Slim
River, Kuala Lumpur, Batu Pahat, Muar and then finally of the retreat onto the island on the
night of the full moon - Feb. 1st 1942.
Page 10
When we evacuated Penang - without warning the local population of our intention - our
beach post was reinforced by several of our Battery that had been working in Penang. They
had indeed a grim tale to tell. The Jap air raids killed about 3,000 civilians and there were
about 4 Brewster Buffaloes only to oppose them. All were shot down. The Japs tried
repeatedly to sink an ammunition ship - without success. Looting started in the city and all
services stopped when the civil population deserted the town and ran to the Hill. The dead
bodies in the streets began to decompose and the Volunteers were detailed to dispose of them
- which they did. Then suddenly the order to evacuate and not to tell the civil population.
This was a disgrace. The town was left undefended and for 3 days the Nips bombed it
without opposition. Dicky Hoops prophesied, and how right he was, that we should be

9.
Page 11
unable to defend Singapore successfully. He was not regarded too favourably for his
opinions, although no one could doubt his determination to do his best in the forthcoming
action. He wisely got his wife away to Australia whilst the going was good. Singapore was
raided daily by Nip bombers flying in formations of 27 (sketch of 3 groups of 9 planes in
arrow formation, 1 group in front and 2 behind). They bombed Kallang Civil Airport, which
was ½ a mile from our position, frequently, almost always between 9.30 and 10.30 in the
morning. We got to expect them. It was obvious that the Brewsters could not reach them
and that they were far too high for most of the AA fire. I once saw a direct hit on a bomber,
which disappeared, and we learned that 19 had been shot down by AA fire that day - which
was good - very good - but not good enough. The first bomb that fell on Singapore
demolished Guthrie and Co.'s
Page 12
office in Battery Road - so we moved into the Yokahama Special Bank. I had several days on
which I was able to go to the office for the afternoon. Everything , of course, was v. difficult.
I sub-let the house at 10, Nathan Road to the Malayan Tin Dredging Co., to be used by their
staff being evacuated from Batu Gajah and on one occasion I went there for dinner and found
10 women and 12 children living in the place! They all seemed very cheery and on the next
occasion I went there on Jan. 30th there were about 6 men and one woman, all the other
women and children had been evacuated. This woman, a Mrs Thompson, redheaded and v.
attractive, said she would stay with her husband come what may. She was probably interned
in Changi Jail when the Nips took S'pore. On the last occasion I had leave I had tea with
Daisy and Scott Cumming at the Oak-Rhind's house in Cable Road. Daisy had produced a
baby about a week or 10 days previously. I saw the baby and must say that I had
Page 13
to conceal my real feelings as to its beauty. Daisy, of course, was enchanted. Scott was
proud in a mild sort of way. I'm glad to say that Daisy and babe were safely evacuated to
England. I saw Scott at Changi and again at Non Pladuck in Thailand in January 1945. He
had recovered from the wounds in his legs with only a slight limp. I saw Guthries on this last
day too - at Draycott the big house behind the Tanglin Club. They had been bombed there,
too, and Osman the head tamby had been killed and Johnny Horne badly wounded in the
stomach. Altogether, G. and Co. had a bad time and it almost seemed that the Nips were
making a dead-set at them. On that occasion I saw Cooper, Esson and Hardman. Cooper told
me that G. and Co. had sold all their stocks to the Army and Navy and so there was little
work to be done, and all that I could do
Page 14
was to look in occasionally to set right any queries that arose. He also told me that there were
considerable stocks arriving for us at the SHB [Singapore Harbour Board]. These did arrive,
in time for the Nips to make full use of them. When the Nips took K.L. things really did look
serious for us and there was talk of establishing a line from Mersing through to Batu Pahat -
to be held at all costs by the Australians (who had not been in action up till then) and the
Indian 7th Division. In theory this was alright but in practice the plan was nullified because
the Nips were able to land in rear of our positions on the West Coast using boats they

captured in Penang and landing craft they brought down by rail. The British troops of the
18th Division, who arrived in Singapore about 25th January - 30th January and some even as
late as the 7th
10.
Page 15
February were not of much use. Most of their equipment was lost on the "Empress of Asia"
which was bombed and set on fire by the Nips, whilst a few miles off S'pore. They had been
about 3 months on the water coming from England - having travelled via Halifax, Trinidad,
Cape Town, Bombay (they stopped for 3 weeks at Ahmedmargah [?Ahmadnegar?]) then
through Colombo to Singapore. They had been trained in East Anglia for open warfare in the
Middle East and knew absolutely nothing about jungle warfare. Some of their Battalion did
well but the majority were quite useless. They were just thrown away. On the evacuation to
the mainland there was a lull of one week during which the Nips repaired the Causeway and
brought down their heavy guns. The coastal big guns were swung
Page 16
round when possible and fired at concentrations in Johore. Unfortunately only 2 out of the 5
15-inch guns could be brought to bear and the shells for them were Armour Piercing so that
the damage was not great. The Nips bombarded the West Coast all during the night of
February 8th and disrupted the 2/20 Battn. AIF opposing them at Kranji and they landed in
force that night and took Tengah Aerodrome. The 2/20 beat a retreat - they ran too far back
and the Nips made tremendous headway. The Argylls and Loyals retook Tengah the next
day and were then driven out and deployed in Holland village. The Nips attacked
Page 17
using low-flying 'planes and mortars and a big battle took place at Bukit Timah on the golf
course, and in the woods and around the reservoir. We were withdrawn from the "Grove" on
the night of Thursday 12th February and as we passed Kallang Aerodrome we saw that it was
completely shattered. The Hurricanes that had arrived a week before were piled up in
disordered heaps. Two were crashed with their props. and engines stuck in the ground. We
set up our no. 2 gun in the 25 cents entrance to the Alhambra covering Beach Road. The
other gun covered Middle Road. We slept a little that night but during Friday and Saturday
sleep or rest were impossible due to the bombardment and shelling. Headquarters was hit
several
Page 18
times and it was obvious that the Nips were having things their own way. 16 Bofors were set
up along the reclamation and loosed off at low flying planes without much effect. I was stuck
on the slope out of HQs in a lorry during one raid and nearly caught it by machine gunning.
Fires started in the SHB and of course the oil tanks on Poelau [Paeloe] Samboe and Paeloe
Bukom and Kranji were simply tremendous. At night the glow from the fires lighted the
whole foreshore. On the night of the 12th the whole town was covered by a thick pall of
smoke, which completely hid the moon. Stragglers by the hundred came down Beach Road
and we took over 6 Norfolks. The MPs moved into the Alhambra under Pinkey who used to
run the Grove.

11.
Page 19
Ernest Carr, who had left G. and Co. at Medan, turned up as a Captain in the R.A. in charge
of field security. Seeing that he had been sacked it did not do him much harm. On the
afternoon of Sunday 15 th , men could be seen going out to sea in small boats and some of the
MPs shot at them as deserters. It was all very deliberate and looked very bad to me. Then
one of the Gunners shouted out that these were men from his own unit who had been ordered
by their C.O. to escape. On this they stopped shooting at them. All sorts of contradictory
orders came through. We set up our guns covering Kallang Aerodrome and at 4.00 p.m. there
came the order "Cease Fire". This was passed verbally from the right from unit to unit. No
written confirmation came so the
Page 20
122 Field Regt. RA who were next to us decided it was 5th Column work and fired off their
remaining ammunition. We did not fire officially but Webb loosed off an 18 pdr. on his own.
Then at 8.00 o'clock there was a lull and the news came thru' that we had capitulated. The
Adjutant of the 122 made the announcement adding that we were not to attempt to escape.
About 9.00 o'clock Colthart [Coltart] called some of us, who were thinking of escape,
together, and said we might have a go at it in his yacht B7. We chose those who had some
experience in handling yachts -
Colthart
Ryecroft
Hoops
Hough
Webb
Myself
Page 21
Ryecroft, Hoops and Hough and Webb were to get the sails rigged and the boat down to the
water from the slips where she had been for 2 months and Colthart and I were to organise the
water and food. We were to meet before 1.0 am and get to Bukom or one of the nearby
islands before dawn. I got water and biscuits, bully and soda water and Colthart got a 15 cwt
truck. We loaded up - said good bye to Tom Evans, Chas Butterfield and Whitehead and off
we went. The streets were deserted except for lines and lines of transport - 100s and 100s of
lorries, trucks, cars, etc. There were some fires blazing but we got to the yacht club alright
and loaded up, and then with the assistance of about 25 others pushed the yacht into the water
down the sand. We immediately saw that she was
Page 22
making water. We watched and in about ½ an hour she was waterlogged, so it was useless to
use her. Webb found a kolek and went off in her and came swimming back in ½ an hour. We
then decided, as there were no other boats, to keep B7 under water all night and Monday, to
allow the hull to expand and fill up the cracks. Colthart then decided to report back to HQs
and all of us except Ryecroft and Hough and Webb went along with him. Next day the Nips
came in at about 12.00 o'clock. They behaved very well to us and caused no trouble. We had
to stack our ammunition and park the guns in the square which we did - we also handed in

small arms. But it was impossible to get back to the Yacht Club to get away. Ryecroft, Bill
Walker, Sabine, Robinson and 2 Regulars did get away to Sumatra,
12.
Page 23
and finally to Java, Australia and freedom on a motorboat. They left in broad daylight under
the Nips' noses. I heard of their escape a few days afterwards and of their safe arrival in India
by letter in August '43 whilst at Hintock, Thailand. Webb and Hough made off on their own
to escape up country but after about 2 weeks they were rounded up and came out to Changi.
Feb. 16th 1942
The Nip Military Police were in control and although there was a bit of sniping things were
fairly quiet.
Feb. 18th 1942
We marched out to Changi. The Chinese were very sympathetic and helped us with water.
Feb. 19th 1942 - May 12th 1942
I was at Changi together with 43,000 other POWs. The Indians were
Page 24
at Farrer Park and except for the Gurkhas were released. We spent 2 of 3 days resting and
bathing and then strict regulations came into effect. Our rations were, for about 1 week,
about 6 biscuits each, and a 16 oz. tin of milk and a 12 oz. tin of Bully between 21 men.
Some units had brought lots of tinned food out in lorries and fed well. We handed all our
stores into the general stores and had to live on the rations. We were put on to 12 oz. of rice
daily, plus 3 oz. of meat, and a little milk and salt. A lot of the rice was bad and in fact we
seldom got more than 8 oz daily. I lost 4 stone in 3 months. We realised that the QMS were
robbing us and feeding from the reserves of tinned stocks. They got fat - we got thin. There
was much feeling against officers who were living very well. A Black
Page 25
Market started and a tin of milk or of jam was sold for $8, Bully Beef was $4 and sardines
$3.50. I had only $12, which was my last pay, and so could not afford anything. The
Gordons and Manchesters were breaking out of camp and getting in food from dumps nearby,
and selling at enormous profits. Some made at least $10,000. Stealing became v. prevalent.
Like many others who were living on the bare rations, I became v. weak and could only just
manage to climb the stairs. I did not move about for more than an hour daily. The dark
evenings we spent discussing the "News". Rumours soon started. On the 27th March it was
rumoured and confirmed that we had landed in Holland and rapidly taken Hamburg, Stettin
and Breslau, and the Russians had taken Warsaw.

13.
Page 26
On April 10th or thereabouts, a party went to Singapore to work and brought the real news -
few of the optimists believed it and bets of $500 or $1,000 were made. Some men lost
thousands in bets that the war would be over by Sept. 15th 1942. Nassim was one of them.
On April 13th we saw 46 Japanese warships pass S'pore towards the East. 5 battleships and 5
aircraft carriers were included. The biggest concentration I had ever seen. If only we had had
such a force in Malaya 6 months before!! We surmised that this was the fleet that had
attacked Trincomalie unsuccessfully. News from hidden wireless sets began to be circulated.
We had to turn out for Japanese victory parades on several occasions.
Page 27
The Japanese, to our surprise, did not once search us and in fact we very rarely saw them.
There was much indignation when a Sikh Indian Army Officer collaborated with the Japs and
beat up one of our soldiers for not saluting. This was the 1st of many beatings I witnessed.
Apart from the perpetual hunger we were not too badly off. There was water. We used to
read a great deal, play cards and listen to lectures. The Japs did not bother us. There was
keen competition to go down to S'pore to work as food could be stolen or bought. The first
party to go away was one to Japan consisting of 2,000 technicians (all of them volunteered to
go), who ended up, I suppose, in factories. Then 3,000 AA men went to Saigon. Then 1,500
to Tengah and Kranji and then 1,500 to Pasir Panjang oil dumps. Then 1,500 to River Valley
Road . Then my turn with 2,000 to River Valley Road on May 12th 1942.
We marched the whole distance of 20 miles in the one day carrying most of our kit. I was
surprised to feel quite fit at the end of the trip.
Page 28
May 12th - Oct. 12th 1942 at River Valley Road in quarters consisting of attap huts intended
for bombed out civilians, which were put up by the British just before the war. We soon
improved the camp. We did work - building godowns 8.00 am to 5.00 p.m. Our guards were
Jap conscripts and they were good. They were very amenable. They had only been 6 months
in the army. We had a company (L10) of 200 volunteers (Malayan) and our guards' names
were Moriama, Okajacki , Hoja and one we used to call Gumboil. Gumboil was the stooge.
He did whatever the other guards or we told him. I had $2.00 when I arrived in RVR camp.
When I left I had $350. We were paid 10 cents a day. Dick Boyes [Boys]
Page 29
and myself started trading on a capital of $4.00 the second day we were in camp. We used to
buy bread at 11 loaves for a dollar and sell at 10 cents each. By saving the profits we made
additional capital. We bought salt in bulk and sold in 10 cent packets and made bigger
profits. When the volunteers arrived at R.V. Road, the regulars were intent on squeezing the
money out of them. Within 2 weeks we had got all their business and our hut developed into
"Change Alley". We soon had over 20 shops selling such things as:
Ducks eggs at 10 cents
Bread rolls at 10 cents

Local cigarettes, 20s at 18 cents to 25 cents (we forced the price down from 30 cents)
Tinned cheese, milk, bully, sardines, jam, etc. at 55 cents - 65 cents
Java tobacco at $4.50 a katty
Page 30
Cigarette papers (Rizlers) 7½ cents to 10 cents
Matches 3 cents - 5 cents
Beer 60 cents a pint
also there was a big market in stolen Jap goods brought in by parties from the docks. The
guards did not seem to mind stealing as long as they had a share. Boyes and I used to buy all
our supplies from Chinese nearby. Maurice Gulliford and I worked together for a while and
we used to break out at night and buy in the village. We were caught by an Indian
collaborator one night but bluffed our way through. One of our best lines was peanut toffee
at 3 bars for 10 cents and peanuts (full of B1) at 10 cents a half pint. Maurice and I met Song
Kheng and Omar in the village and they gave us $25 and some food. The money helped to
build up our capital. Then Maurice decided to spend his time reading
14.
Page 31
instead of in the shop and so Boyes and I were alone. We found that the work kept us
extraordinarily busy, especially when we had Java Tobacco and peanuts, but it made the time
pass very quickly. I spent what free time I had with Joe Potter and Lincoln Page playing
cards or talking. We made ourselves comfortable at RVR. Most of us made beds and chairs
and tables and we got books from outside and such things as buckets, bowls, kitchen knives,
extra electric light fittings (these were prohibited), all of which helped to make us more
comfortable. I got my weight back and was 12 stone 10 lbs just before we left. I played 7 a
side rugger 10 minutes each way on several occasions. Joe arranged this of course. Cricket
was popular on Yasumé Days.
Page 32
The pitch was mud of course, and the bats and stumps home made and the ball a tennis ball
but there was considerable fun and interest. We played Test Matches. The Australians, of
whom there were about 200, were the camp's biggest racketeers and richest men. Few wanted
to go to work because they had so much money. The Nips were very lenient and only when
on one occasion only 2 Australians turned out did they complain. All the others said they
could not work because they had no boots. (Of course they had really.) Then the Nip officer
turned out all the men without boots and made them run around barefoot for about 1/2 an
hour chasing them round with his sword - it was
Page 33
very ludicrous. After that there were more men out to work for a few days. Our first real
unpleasantness came when they took the Nip guards off and put on Sikhs. These Sikhs
belonged to an Indian Army unit that had gone over to the Nips in Borneo and they were very
bad. They demanded salutes and bows from everyone and would sometimes pretend not to
see the salute and beat up some unfortunate. They were most unpleasant and I hope they have
now been rounded up. After the Sikhs we got even worse guards - Koreans. These Koreans
are big men averaging 5 ft 10 ins and about 13 stone. They are very quick to lose their

tempers and always ready to hand out a beating. We were sorely tried. After the Nip
conscripts these guards
15.
Page 34
were a most unpleasant change. We were almost glad to leave RVR to get away from them.
Little did we know that it was a case of frying pan to fire.
At the beginning of October we had finished building the 15 godowns, and were working on
the docks with some unpleasant Nips. South African Red Cross arrived and was stored in the
camp. On the 10 th each of us was issued with :-
1 pair boots
1 " shorts.
1 shirt
1 hat
3 tins bully
3 tins milk
3 tins meat and vegetable ration.
On the 12th we marched to the station. It was comic to see the comically over-loaded men.
Some had made little go carts to pull their gear on. Some of the packs burst, and soap and
tins went in all
Page 35
directions. Rickshaws were loaded up by some people and their pullers refused any payment.
We got to the station and were put 31 in a 10 ton covered goods wagon. This was a crush but
the Nips always travelled the same, usually more to a wagon. We had 2 gallons of water in
our wagon and it had to last for 36 hours - needless to say we finished it in about 2 hours
because of the heat and we were dreadfully thirsty by the time we got to Seremban. I drank
the water they were putting in the engine, and so did most of the other 650. The sight that
morning at Seremban at 6.00 a.m. was comical, if not very dignified. We were certainly
giving the Tamils, Malays and Chinese a new view of the white man ( till I next write)
on the back of last page and written in ink
When we got to Padang Besar, on the Malaya Siam border, there were many Thais willing to
buy our clothes, watches, fountain pens, etc. Joe Potter sold his Carlisle Grammar school tie
for 50 cents! I sold two fountain pens - a Swan for $1.50 , a Waterman for $1.75. With the
proceeds we bought eggs, pomelos, etc.
_____________________________________________________
On the way up, Joe Potter sat near the door of the goods wagon next to me. I was in constant
danger of being pushed through the door by Joe's wriggles when he was nearly asleep. On
one occasion a sudden jolt of the train sent Sidney de Cruz's haversack through the open door.
As I happened to be pulling it off [?his arms] at the time, I replaced what I could from my
spare belongings - toothbrush, towel, soap, etc.
Boyes ate too much and was sick. McNeill did not impress with his long legs and general
lack of consideration.
_____________________________________________________

16.

Part 2:
( Written in pencil)
Rec 5/2/46
On board "KAROA" Nov. 10th '45 between Fremantle and Albany, Western Australia.
Continuation of Journal
17.
Page 1
650 of us left River Valley Road. on October 12th 1942 for Thailand. We were not told by
the Japs where we were going, but there were, of course, many guesses. Some thought,
hopefully, that our destination might be the Cameron Highlands - Malaya's best hill station!
Major Wilde [Wild], the interpreter at River Valley Road, bid us farewell. This man
displayed marked ability in dealing with the Japanese. He was able to maintain a dignified
manner in his contact with the Nips and on many occasions his knowledge of their character
acquired through several years spent in Japan was extremely useful in preventing "incidents" .
Gordon Selfridge, one of the Loyal Regt., which was
Page 2
particularly active in the stealing of Nip stores was on one occasion caught whilst raiding the
stores between River Valley Road and Havelock Road camps and Major Wilde saved him
from receiving the heavy punishment that we thought inevitable. He was put in the Nip guard
house for a week on rice and water but was not beaten. Some of the men were very daring in
their raids on these stores. They used to swim across the Singapore River which divided the 2
camps, which was at this point a tidal muddy creek. When the sentries - who were Sikhs -
had passed they would dash across the floodlighted track and break into the stores. The
return journey was made at low tide and they waded across in thick mud. Gordon Selfridge
was caught on the return journey. He had miscalculated the tide and as he was a poor
swimmer could not get across the River.
Page 3
The goods which were stored in the godowns were very assorted. Marmite, Capstan
Tobacco, writing paper, handkerchiefs were some of them. They were sold to the natives for
high prices. Tins of Capstan tobacco were $3.00 per tin. I used sometimes to buy these
goods for re-sale to the Chinese. One of the most daring thefts was of a box of glass-cutting
instruments. These were sold for thousands of dollars. The result of all this selling of stolen
stores was that a great deal of money was brought into the camp and the men were able to
supplement the Japanese rations by buying such things as bread, tinned butter, meat, milk and
eggs. Eggs were the most important food item throughout our POW days. Boyes and I on
occasion sold as many as 450 a day. Our average would be about 250 a day. We bought at
12 for a dollar and
Page 4
sold at 10 cents each. We guaranteed our eggs and replaced bad ones. Boyes and I used to
settle up the accounts daily and draw equal amounts whenever we wanted spending money.
Maurice used to keep books of accounts for us, but when he left we just had a record of cash
and purchases. When we left for Thailand we split about $700 between us.

__________________________________________
Now we go on to May 1943
* We were at Wampo, which lies on the Minam (?Menam) Kah Wei river about 50 miles
North West of Kanchanaburi in Thailand. We had arrived on Oct. 27th '42 and the 1,700 in
camp had completed the track of railway for 7 kilometres North and South, including 2 very
long stretches around precipitous cliffs 300 feet high in a sheer drop to the river. I had
worked on both track and bridges and kept well except for a slight attack of malaria in April.
The Nips provided quinine and
18.
Page 5
and I very soon recovered. We had a difficult march up to Tarso from Ban Phong, a distance
of 86 kilometres, which took us 5 days. We carried most of our kit, what we left behind was
largely stolen and looted by the POWs that came afterwards - in particular the Argylls, the 9th
Coast Regt. and some Australians. This stealing of our kit placed men in a very difficult
position and it is impossible to forego the contention that the lack of their blankets and those
few tins of Red Cross food we brought from Singapore contributed largely to the heavy death
rate in Thailand. The thieves stole the clothes, mosquito nets, etc., and sold them for high
prices to the Thais. Prices at first were about $10 or rather 10 ticals for a pair of trousers,
about 20 ticals for a blanket. As large quantities
Page 6
of clothes were offered for sale the prices of course dropped. The most fortunate of the
POWs to go to Thailand were the Australians. The Nips had told them that as Australia was
taken they would soon be sent back to their homes and it was not till April '43 that they were
brought to Thailand, although 4,000 had gone in May '42 to Burma. Whilst in Singapore they
had the full benefit of the Red Cross supplies from South Africa including, of course, our
share, which was not sent to Thailand. When they arrived in April '43 they were very fit, and
found the British in poor condition as they had already been in the jungle for 6 months. Our
first 6 months at Wampo from Oct. 27th till April '43 were spent in good weather. After the
wet monsoon ended in early Nov., the weather became dry and for six months there was
barely a wet day.
Page 7
The nights were cold and the mornings clear and invigorating. In better times with good food
and plenty of clothing and adequate medical supplies the place would have been positively a
health resort. The camp was on the banks of the river and we soon cleared the site of trees
and small bushes and erected attap and bamboo huts. Attap is a thatch of palm leaves, which
was brought up the river in barges. We slept on platforms of crushed bamboo. Mosquitoes
were not common and we slept well. For the first 3 weeks we had very poor food. There was
a small supply of poor quality rice, a little salt and a few snake gourds ( a type of vegetable
marrow). Breakfast was 1 pint of boiled rice pap and plain tea (1 pint). Dinner was 1 pint
boiled rice and marrow stew with salt about 1/2 a pint very thin with 3 or 4 small cubes of
marrow and plain tea. Supper was the same as

19.
Page 8
dinner. We formed a Kongsi - Tony Mills, Joe Potter, Lincoln Page and myself. Dick Boyes
went in with MacNeill (both dead now - Dick at Chungkai dysentery, MacNeill drowned on
the way to Japan). I was glad to join Tony and the others. Dick Boyes was not quite so much
a friend as an ally, I had many more tastes in common with the others. We agreed to pool our
resources. We all carried up from Ban Phong some tinned stuff and drugs. I bought quinine
from D. Graham who had kept it from before the war. This used up all my ticals. The
quinine was to be used in emergency, luckily the emergency never came. I also had brought
aspirin, iodine, bandages, M and B 693, zinc oxide ointment, zambuk, cottonwool and
potassium permanganate. Tony was the fortunate possessor of several 4 oz jars of Marmite
bought
Page 9
in River Valley Road. We used to have a small amount with our rice at dinner and supper in
the early days at Wampo. I had 2 small tins stolen at Kanchanaburi on the way up to Wampo.
Joe Potter had a 2lb tin of dripping and when 'Jumbo' our large kongsi Kit Bag arrived from
Ban Phong we were lucky enough to get 19 assorted tins of food. Some had been stolen on
the way up, by the bag being cut open at the bottom, but we were luckier than most in that we
did get something. Many lost their all and most lost all their food. It was probably the small
extras that kept us going in these bad early days. We were very bitter about the stealing that
went on - particularly by the 9th Coast Regt. RA who were billeted with us. These men were
the scum of the army, posted to Singapore
Page 10
for bad behaviour in England - 35 of them were in gaol when Malaya was attacked. Some for
car thefts, some for drunken brawling and 6 of them for robbing the R.C. church, and 2 for
even worse crimes. They regarded the Volunteers as fair game and it was due to their
depredations that we lost so much kit, which they sold to the Thais, spending the money on
tobacco chiefly. I lost in one night my hat, spoon, mug, knife and a pair of boots. At other
times I had stolen another pair of boots (which I recovered and, in doing so, discovered the
thief a Gordon Highlander), tooth brush, 2 pencils, comb, scissors (which I had had since St.
Erbyns), nail file, a new tube of toothpaste, soap and about ¼lb of tobacco. All these things
were practically irreplaceable and the handicap was enormous. I ate with bamboo for a year
before I was able to buy a spoon. I drank for 3 years out of
Page 11
a dripping tin and when this wore out from a milk tin. I bought a bamboo Thai hat; John
Craig gave me a toothbrush. As for soap and toothpaste - well I just did without. This
stealing from comrades was probably the most distressing thing that ever occurred in our
camps, not excepting the behaviour of the Nips. Men's blankets were stolen and, as a result,
when they had malaria they suffered badly. Rice sacks were sometimes obtainable as a
substitute. My covering, which was a car rug, wore out in Sept. '44 and after that I used
sacks. Father Bourke, the R.C. chaplain, was most outspoken in his condemnation of this
stealing, going so far as to rate the thieves as murderers. So they were.
Our kongsi always maintained a careful guard on its possessions. There was always

20.
Page 12
someone about to look after our gear. We of course slept in a row on the opposite side of the
hut from the 9th Coast. Exactly opposite us we had Davey, Macomski, O'Connor and one
other Irishman. All these men were involved in the R.C. church robbery. Davey
subsequently became an informer and told the Nips about the secret wireless set and news
service. I hope they are going to be dealt with by justice. It was not a pleasant experience to
lie there on the dark nights listening to their conversation. Lincoln and I used to sit by the
river after roll-call (Tenko) and admire the sunset over the mountains. The view was
beautiful. There were 7 ranges of mountains between us and the sea of the Indian Ocean. We
could see 2 or 3 ranges dark green and blue - thickly jungled. The River running between
swiftly and clear. Behind us the parade ground, shortly before a mass of jungle, now a
smooth bare earth
Page 13
expanse. On our right the hut of the Koreans and on our left the Nip engineers. Behind, in a
row, the huts of the POWs. The Korean and Nip huts lighted by coconut oil and kerosene
lamps, and the POW huts mostly dark, but an occasional coconut oil lamp using blacklegged
oil.
As we sat there we used to speculate on our chances if we tried to get across the mountains to
the sea. We did know that there was a track leading towards Tavoy in Burma about 70 miles
away. But as we were weak without proper clothes or boots we always came to the
conclusion that escape was impracticable. Those that did try it later on, from further up the
river, either died in the jungle or were caught and shot. An exception was Pierson's brother,
an officer, who, with some others, was away for a week. They were not missed and when
they found the
difficulties insuperable they returned to camp and carried on as before. The Nips knew
nothing about it.
Page 14
Our Kongsi used to spend Yasumé days in the jungle alongside the camp, where we would
fry our rice and open a tin of corned beef. Our biggest feeds were on Christmas Day and on
my birthday. On that day we finished all our tinned stuff. By then we were able to buy eggs
in fair quantities and with a supplement of 2 or 3 eggs a day plus jungle "spinach" which
grew around the camps we were doing better. Our tickets home were definitely in the bottom
of our mess tins and we organised things to the best possible advantage.
Lincoln had a very bad go of fever for 2 weeks and became very thin. I gave him aspirin and
he went to hospital but he never did any
Page 15
work and was evacuated to Chungkai when we went up further to do the rush work. I next
saw him at Tamuan in Jan. '45. Joe Potter got dysentery very very badly and nearly died, but
pulled through with some M and B 693 that Pavillard had got hold of. He was evacuated in

April and I next saw him in Nakom Patom in June '44. Tony stayed very fit and so did I. On
the whole the 1,700 at Wampo kept good health because
1. Pavillard the Volunteer doctor in charge was very energetic
2. We bought drugs from the Thais secretly
3. Hattori the Nip Lieutenant in charge was not harsh and co-operated well
4. Lt/Col Lilley [Lilly] of the Sherwood Foresters was a 1st class man and succeeded in
getting co-operation from the Nips.
21.
Page 16
5. The weather was good
6. Lastly, and the chief reason, was that the railway work was up to schedule and there was
no driving.
We worked from 8.00 a.m. until 5.00 p.m. after an initial spell for 8.00 a.m. till 7.00 p.m.
Lilley had this changed.
We had about 15 deaths at Wampo during that 6 months. They included the following
volunteers:-
C.S.M. Crabb diphtheria and dysentery
Geoffrey Brown appendicitis
John Welsh appendicitis
MacLeod dysentery
Pickard appendicitis
Banner dysentery
Laurie Woods dysentery
Bob Wakeford beriberi
Our first sick were evacuated by barge on 7/4/43
On 23/12/42 I sent my 2nd PC home. The first had been from River Valley Road in June.
On 30/4/43 the railway was through Wampo to Tarso.
Page 17
13/5/43 I received my first home mail, a letter from mother dated 21/7/42. I was then in
North Wampo working on the big bridge. Great excitement when we went back to camp that
day. I became quite an accomplished rock climber, we went through (?) rocks down the cliff
to the river, a height of 300 feet. I did not suffer from vertigo, to my surprise. It was often a
temptation to push the Nips over the edge although no one did. One Nip, to 2 or 3 of our
chaps, was killed on this job. Sometimes the heat on the rock face was terrific - we could
only work for 4 hours at a stretch. The view from the top was wonderful.
15/5/43 After all-night ration [?] fatigue left Wampo by train for Tarso. Lincoln and Joe
Potter were left behind, besides lots of others, about 400, so only about 490 of B and D and F
Battalions went up together. We were fairly fit. The train journey was not at all bad - going
over the Bridge was

an anxious time. The Koreans in charge were a bad crowd. Incidentally the Koreans and
Nips hated each other and we had a mass fight at Wampo on one occasion.
22.
Page 18
17/5/43 We marched from Tarso to S. Tonchan. Here it was that our troubles really started.
The wet weather came and we were quartered 20 to a small tent 14 feet by 8 feet and the mud
was ankle deep everywhere. The flies and refuse were terrible and the other POWs who were
there before us were a hopeless crowd with no decent organisation. The latrines were open
and dysentery was rife. I believe I first got it here.
28/5/43 200 of us were marched 3 km to the Bridge Camp. I split from Tony on this
occasion so the Kongsi was broken up.
10/6/43 Cholera broke out and Tamils and POWs were dying every day. We lost 105/110 in
June and about 500/600 Tamils. They were all buried in big pits anyhow. I was lucky to
escape free but the awful horror of catching it was nerve racking.
Page 19
June and July '43 were my worst months as a POW. It was these 2 months that caused most
of the deaths on the railway. Work was terribly hard, the weather was continuously wet and
we never had a dry stitch of clothing. The 200 of us built 10 bridges in one month. Most of
them were the usual crazy temporary bridges. We did all the heavy work - the Nips used to
knock in the dog spikes. We used to carry colossal weights and we were all very weak.
Cheeba, the Korean in charge, was very bad. He forced the sick to work, stole our rations and
generally behaved very badly. I have listed him as a war criminal. I had one go of malaria
and was lucky to get 3 days off work. This was due to the efforts of an Indian doctor from a
neighbouring F Force camp. For several days this doctor came early in the morning to our
camp and inspected the sick. He diagnosed malaria in my case and ordered "bed down no
work". Cheeba did his utmost to shake the MO but he insisted in face of threats and got his
way. On a
Page 20
subsequent occasion Cheeba knocked this Indian MO down and kicked him and forced the
sick out to work. Cheeba used to parade the sick at the same time as the workers and make
them do physical jerks, press ups, running around, etc., until sometimes they collapsed. The
idea was to intimidate the men into working. Capt. Rae of the SRA(V), my unit, who was in
charge of our camp, was not a very suitable person to handle Cheeba. He is a very
melancholy-looking, serious individual and Cheeba used to love to irritate him. The best type
we could have would have been a bluff, devil-may-care type like Capt. Watts. On several
occasions Rae reported Cheeba's behaviour to the "Tiger", the Nip Sergeant Major at South
Tonchan. Cheeba did not like this, naturally. He made Rae and Capt Sanderson stand outside
his hut at attention for several hours whilst he blathered at them and struck them. Rae and
Sanderson came out of it very well. I was the target for several ill-tempered assaults on the
bridge work because I never worked as hard as the Nip engineers would like, and deliberately
did the wrong things. They realised this ultimately and one

23.
Page 21
day I was beaten about with a dog spike, without much damage, however, to my head but it
ruined my Thai hat. It was at this camp that we first saw signs of people becoming "Jap
happy" - that is currying favour with the Japs with the idea of getting more food and better
treatment. Some of them took on the job as servants to do the cooking, washing and other
personal services. The Nips usually picked out the Eurasians to do this work. Cheeba was
particularly keen on having Eurasians as "Tobans" - i.e. servants. He used to call them
Indians.
The Tamils in the neighbouring camp were in a shocking state. They had come up by train,
as we did, but in April and May '43 - about 6 months later. They were off the Malay Rubber
Estates and many of them were the former coolies of estates managed by the volunteers, so
we had the somewhat amusing spectacle of the estate manager and his former coolie working
side by side on the railway as Japanese coolies. The Tamils were promised by the Nips high
wages, good food and light work. As most of the estates were closed down they volunteered
for the work in 1,000s,
Page 22
many bringing their families. They were paid $3.00 per day (we got 25 cents). They were
provided with better food than us. They had new waterproof Jap tents whereas we had only
rotten inside tent linings from British tents, BUT, whereas we got treatment from doctors and
a certain amount of medical supplies, the Tamils were treated by the Nips, and not very well.
When they got cholera or malaria they just lay down and died making no effort to get well.
They did not organise proper latrines or swill pits, consequently their camp was incredibly
filthy. We used to clean up our rubbish and bury it sometimes in the pitch dark at night. The
Tamils just threw rubbish outside their tents and let the flies breed on it and carry disease
everywhere. The Nips got very little work indeed out of the Tamils. One POW did as much
work as 10 Tamils. Sometimes we would try to work as slowly and carry as little as the
Tamils - it was just impossible. A child of 10 could have done more. I do not know whether
it was their normal working capacity or not, anyway the Nips never were able to
Page 23
make them do any more and just could not handle them. If 100 Tamils went out to work you
could be sure that 50 of them would disappear into the jungle and sit down and do no work.
Those that stayed on the railway track would stand around and chatter for hours meanwhile
their "Kalgannies" (?) used to put on a show for the benefit of the Nips - shouting and
bawling at them. The Nips rarely hit them - they preferred to make the POWs do the work
and they generally just left the Tamils alone. The Nips throughout showed a hopeless lack of
organisation. If they had done things properly from the start the railway would have been
finished in the dry season with infinitely fewer deaths.
We had some 100 Chinese (Thai born) with us, doing rock drilling. They were big husky
fellows and were left quite alone by the Nips. They did not work hard. They knew how to
look after themselves. They did not suffer. I think that most of them were gaol-birds,
because when they were washing I saw several with the marks of floggings on their backs.
We got very few canteen supplies in this camp, because we were

24.
Page 24
not on the River, and we had to go to S. Tonchan to collect the eggs, gulah malacca, etc. The
eggs went up in price because the Tamils were able to pay high prices, earning as they did
$3.00 a day. Before the war, a Tamil's wage was 60 to 80 cents daily. Before the war, eggs
were 2 cents. At Tonchan they were 10-15 cents. The day the steam locomotive came over
our bridges we had a Yasumé (holiday) the first for a month. Till then we had been working
all the hours of daylight. We now went to Central Tonchan and found things in a very bad
way. The huts had collapsed and the hospital was filthy. The camp organisation was
disgraceful. The officers were running the canteen for their own profit and the sick were
neglected. There were many deaths through dysentery, malnutrition and malaria, although
cholera had not touched them. The cookhouses were run as a racket and a lot of food went
out the back door to friends of the cook. Here it was we first met U Battalion of the
Australians. These men looked after themselves better than the British. They had more
money, through the rackets in Singapore and through selling the kit we left in Ban Phong and
Kanchanaburi.
Page 25
The C.O. - Capt. Newton - was a hard case, and he got on well with "the Tiger". He used to
get drugs for his men by devious ways and not many of them died. A large number of B, D
and F Battalion was evacuated to Tarso from Tonchan and the rest of us went North again to
do more "Speedo" work at Kanu. At Tonchan my tent companions had included:-
Bill Goode MCS
Jim Reay MCS
Charles Woodcock (Derricks)
Harold Helps (Fraser & Neave)
John Hinde (Patison Simons)
Peter Hickey (John Littles)
Jock Sangster (Gordon Highlanders )
Lamb (rubber planter)
Hermes Gould (Malaya Mail)
Hamilton, and others whose names I forget.
My particular friend was Charles Woodcock who was evacuated to Tarso with dysentery.
Up till this time I had remained fairly fit except for the one bout of malaria.
The trip up the river to Kanu was exciting. The river had risen about 30 feet due to the
monsoon and was tearing down at about 12 knots. The barge we were being towed in broke
adrift in the gorge just north of Tonchan - and we thought we were certain to be wrecked, but
the Thai boatman leaped ashore and brought up to the bank with the rope and we then landed
the barge up by hand from the shore.
Page 26
It was about 6 hours up to Kanu River Camp, which we found in the usual frightful mess.
There were 300/400 very sick men awaiting evacuation. I met Prof. Silcock who told me that
Prof. Oppenheim at the top camp was D.I., and probably dead by then - this distressed me

greatly as Oppy and I were great friends. Also met Lt. Johnson (McAlisters) of our unit. He
had an enormous beard. He was very cheerful, quite the reverse of Silcock who really
seemed hopelessly depressed. We were confronted here with a march up an enormous hill to
the top camp - Kanu 2. We had to carry our gear and I carried an additional bucket, which
belonged to George Firth. Buckets were worth their weight in gold because containers were
very very scarce and to get a drink you had to boil your own water. When we got to Kanu 2
we found they had cholera. We cleared the jungle outside the camp and put up our tents. U
Battn arrived a few days later. It was not a good camp. The water was very scarce - no river
- and there had to be strict cholera precautions. We had a change of cookhouse staff, which
was good. We had about 4 deaths from cholera. Sgt Robertson of the FMSVF was one.
Peter Bennett of Guthries died of cholera in the main camp. I did not see him and was
unaware of his presence there until long afterwards when I met John Craig at Kinsyo.
25.
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The work was rock drilling and blasting. Some men were much better at this than the others.
The first day each pair had to do a hole of 80 cms. Some of the pairs finished early, so next
day the task was 1 metre. Still some of them finished early, and the task was progressively
increased to 1 metre 20 cm, 1 metre 50 cm,1 metre 80 cms, 2 metres, and finally 2 metres 50
cm - which was 3 times greater than the original task. The fault for this lay with those idiots
who used to work so hard to get away from the job early, not thinking of their weaker fellows
or considering that the Nips were sure to increase the task. It was the same old people who
did this foolish thing as had when we were building the earth embankments at Wampo, when
the task was increased from 4 cubic metres between 6, to 9 cubic metres between 6. The chief
offenders amongst these men were the Gordons, Australians and some of the volunteers,
Rochester, Glendinning, Hutchinson, Parkinson and Uncle Bill Rundle. These men suffered
in health as a result of their over exertion. I never completed the task until all the others had
gone, and did not try - preferring to take things easily. I would rather go back to camp fairly
fresh at 8.00 o'clock than completely
Page 28
worn out at 5.00 o'clock. I never did more than 1 metre 80 centimetres anyway. There were
ways and means of cheating the Nips. Once I had wonderful luck - I found a hollow rock and
after going down about 40 cms the drill went straight in up to about 1 metre. For about 1
week on this job I was beaten every day for not working hard enough but I did not care. The
Nips were trying to make an example of me but they never really hurt me. On the last
occasion the Nip Sergeant put on his gloves and tried to knock me unconscious with several
blows on the point of the jaw but he didn't succeed. He did succeed with Willie Wilson,
however, and we had to carry him up the cliff, and the next day he was evacuated to Tonchan.
What used to hurt me was the degrading part of this work - being beaten around by an Asiatic
- the hurt to one's pride was terrible and we used often to swear revenge on particular Nips. If
I ever met that Nip Sergeant again, I'm sure I should recognise him. Sometimes it was
difficult to control one's temper. If the Nips saw this they used to delight in irritating the
person. Occasionally a prisoner would lay a Nip out - it was not difficult - but it was not
worthwhile because sometimes the POW would

26.
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be beaten to death, and he would usually be beaten with sticks and his limbs broken. The
same Nip sergeant hit one man on the head with a pick handle and he went mad. He used to
fight any Nip he saw. He eventually died. On some occasions if a Nip was unpopular with
his own men a POW could lay him out and get away with it. This did not happen often. On
the whole the Nips treated our Battalion harshly but not brutally. They got all the work out of
us that they wanted. Their idea of getting a job done was to put masses of men on it. The
tools were shoddy and inadequate. The shovels were made out of petrol tins and bent in no
time. The rock drills were often as blunt as hammers. The hammers used to break. The pick
axes were made of cast iron and the axes were not forged. It is an amazing thing that the
railway ever got through. Sometimes there were so many useless tools that the POWs had to
dig with their hands. "Hellfire" Corner, the 100-foot deep cutting at Kanu 2, was done chiefly
by Australians, and the Nips certainly drove them. They did a lot of night work. We did no
night work. This 100-foot deep cutting was probably the biggest job on the whole railway.
Millions of tons of rock had to
be blasted away. Blasting went on night and day every 3 or 4 hours.
Page 30
When the steam train went through Kanu 2 we went back to Tonchan for a rest of a few days.
Then to the Bridge Camp for about a fortnight. Everything was better now. The work was
light. We only had to put the ballast on the track - working with Tamils. The camp was
cleaner and the food brought up by the railway more adequate. Now came a horrible rumour.
The railway was held up in Burma and we were to be marched up to more "Speedo". We
went to Tonchan Central where we linked up with Lilley again. For a few days our fate was
in the balance, then Lilley's protestations to Hattori had the desired effect and we were told
that we had earned our rest and another battalion was to be sent. These unfortunates were the
men from Saigon who had come up in April '43. A lot more men were evacuated and we then
went to Hintock River Camp. This was an interesting camp. There were 450 of us - the
balance of 1,700 at Wampo. The camp was full of sick Saigon men when we arrived. They
had come
Page 31
from Saigon where they had lived very well on stuff stolen from the docks and gone straight
into the jungle and the Speedo without acclimatisation. The result was disastrous. They were
in a bad way. There were also some sick Dutch. They had no news of the war and we were
able to give them this - all about the fall of Italy. F Battalion's secret wireless set was
operating spasmodically. It was ballasting and clearing up work with the worst bunch of Nip
Engineers I ever came across. The work was not difficult but they had got into the habit of
driving the men and could not get out of the habit when the need was not there. I well
remember carrying some particularly heavy logs one day. I blacked out after that and also on
parade that night. Dr Richardson was not very sympathetic and Rae and Clarke our officers
had to tell him off. I had a day's rest, although Richardson was not willing to give it to me.
He was scared of the Nips. Many of the Medical Officers were. It was in this camp that we
really fed well. The rations consisted chiefly of dried vegetables, "cheesy" fish and rice,

27.
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but in the jungle there were 100s of cattle that had strayed from herds being driven over to
Burma. We used to rustle these and we used to slaughter 3 bullocks a day between 450 men.
We all ate too much meat and some developed bad diarrhoea. I had had a bad attack,
probably dysentery 2 or 3 weeks before, but did not suffer at the time. "Snuffy" Craig and
Major Brodie both went down here.
On 25/8/43 we went to Kinsyo. We found Kinsyo a ruin. All the camps we arrived in
seemed to be ruins. There were cholera stricken Tamils and all the very sick from the
battalions that went to Burma in one place. The camp was beautifully situated, but due to the
monsoon was ankle deep in mud and we were in tents. Our job was to rebuild the camp and
build a railway station. 50 of the volunteers went to a sawmill about 6 / 10 kms north. I got a
good job - my first staff job. I had a Rolex Oyster waterproof watch I had bought in
Singapore. The Koreans were very keen to buy watches, and mine was in particular demand,
but I wanted to keep it
Page 33
as a reserve - to be sold when I was really destitute, and perhaps in an effort to escape. The
Korean in charge of the food store knew I had this watch. So he offered another man,
Peacock, in the same circumstances, and myself, jobs in the food store. These jobs were
much sought after and I did not refuse, not knowing the Korean's hidden purpose. Once
installed in the food store he started pestering me to sell my watch. In the end I sold him the
watch for $70 and a pair of boots. I was without boots and in this mud it was uncomfortable,
so I really sold the watch to get the boots. I did not need the money. I already had $40 from
Singapore. The market price for watches was $150 to the Thais. When I left Thailand, one
like mine would be worth $1,000 at least. In Singapore 3 weeks ago they were $900, or about
£120, second hand. So I lost on this deal financially, but in the food store I ate Nip food and
all the fruit, biscuits, eggs, meat, etc, I wanted. It was really good food and I flourished. My
weight went back to
Page 34
13 stone, and I was working hard and keeping fit. Unfortunately, I think I overdid the work.
We had to unload barges of peanuts, peas, beans, etc. and we built up stacks 14/15 bags high
which meant much straining and heaving. This upset my stomach and I gave way to
dysentery. I did not want to go sick and lose my job but on Dec. 2nd I decided I would be
foolish not to go to the hospital and so that day found me in hospital with amoebic dysentery.
My fellows in the store were:-
George Wiseman (FMSVF)
"Tich" Burchinall (of Manchester)
Taffy Coleman (Swansea)
Wally Vincent (Wolverhampton)
These last 3 were of the Saigon party and told us a great deal about the rackets up there. The
stealing of silk, food, ammunition, etc. The arrival of Nip conscripts who thought they were
in India. The famous Col. Hugonin's pool of pay, which took the pay and never gave it out.
The occasion on which Hugonin put a man in the Nip guard room and was put in with him the

next day by the Nips. The kindness of the French and the Annamites. Quite a different
situation
28.
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from that today. The mad Nip Commandant who used to wave his sword around rather
wildly. The American airman officer, who used to break camp every night and stay with a
French family and listen to the news bulletins. George Wiseman was the son of the Head of
Dunlops in Malaya. He works in Bousteads. We did not hit it off too well. He had a short
temper and we had several rows with periods of politeness in between. Taffy was a very
warm hearted kind chap. Tich was 4'6" and very pugnacious, but a true Mancunian. Wally
was a regular soldier of a good type. Immensely strong. I got strong enough in the store to
carry a 2-cwt sack of peas 70 yards uphill from the river to the store. But whereas I could do
only one trip by myself Vincent could do several. There were also some very strong
enormous Dutch in the camp. On the whole, the white Dutch were bigger and fitter than the
British. The majority of the Dutch POWs were Eurasians, some so dark that they were
indistinguishable from Indonesians. Most spoke English very well. In Java, English is a
compulsory language for all but the lowest-grade vernacular schools. I worked for 3 months
in the food store at Kinsyo. The camp work was light. They rebuilt the huts, cleaned up the
rubbish tips, evacuated the Tamils, herded the cattle, made a library, built a station,
Page 36
made air-raid shelters, and there were regular Yasumé day. Every 10 days. On these days we
had football matches, often with the Koreans whom we soundly beat. They were only
beginners however. Occasionally the Koreans lost their tempers, but on the whole these
football matches were well conducted. On Yasumé evenings we had concerts. The producer
was Charles Woodhams, who was a dancing trainer - having trained chorus girls at places like
the Folies-Bergère. Naturally we had our own chorus girls - dressed in gowns made from
mosquito nets and with wigs made from rope, etc. Some of the settings were very good -
made from very unpromising material. The orchestra was largely home-made. Violin,
double-bass, guitars, etc, made from teak chests and telephone wire. There was a trumpet in
the camp and bagpipes brought up by one of the Gordons, who used to march as a piper in
front when we were marching. There was also an accordion which Harris of the 9th Coast
carried all the way up from Singapore although he could not play it. Mouth organs were
much in evidence. We used to have all the old favourite songs and some new ones composed
by our camp musicians. There was also a
Page 37
good deal of dancing. The Thais who occasionally came to the concerts - odd boatmen and
kampong dwellers - were completely taken in by the "girls". Our female impersonator
"songstress" - Bill James - was not so good. He had a particularly unmusical tenor voice,
which jarred the ears in the lower registers! I came across 2 really good female impersonators
whose falsetto was convincing - Bdr. Butler at Changi and the Australian Lieutenant Weller
(?) at Bangkok. Bill James as "Babeth" had one saving grace - he was so ridiculous that we
went into fits of laughter. Bill was from the tin-mines near Ipoh. One of the most popular
turns was the "Hawaiian Serenaders" comprising Jimmy Scheerder, Sidney de Cruz and
Zuzatti - Malayan Eurasian Volunteers. With their home-made guitars and mellow voices
they scored successes with songs such as "Aloha", "Song of the Islands", and "Syncopated

Hula". At Wampo on the Japanese Emperor's birthday in 1943 we had a "Co-Prosperity
Sphere" concert, by order of the IJA (Imperial Japanese Army). The stage was decorated
with the flags of Britain, Japan, China and Thailand. There was a turn by a solitary Chinese -
terrible, then the English did some turns - the usual
29.
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dancing and singing with some jokes and patter. Then the Japs, or rather the Koreans, put on
a turn. There was a long, involved piece of buffoonery supposed to take place in a barber's
shop, and then a Nip (an Engineer) came out with a mouth organ and played several pieces.
He then told the audience, which was POW, of course, that he wanted them to join in the
chorus of the next song. This was explained by the interpreter. He then played - "God Save
the King"!! Some of us sang, but the majority were too dumbfounded to make any effort.
The show was not a success. The Thais put in a rather pathetic effort at the end. We had
sports that day and the Koreans took part. A member of the 9th Coast who was "bed-down"
sick won the 440 yards! A Korean won the 100 yards and 220 yards and a young Eurasian
medical orderly (?Slash Hancock), who was only about 18, won the High Jump, Long Jump
and was first home in the 1 mile relay. The swimming was won by another young Eurasian
named Neubronner. The Nips and Koreans did not do too well. Most of the POWs refused to
take part. We had amongst the
Page 39
Volunteers, Lang, who represented Oxford in the 100 yards and 220 yards about 2 years
before the war. He would have knocked spots off the Korean, if he had competed. This
Korean was a good chap. We called him "Arthur Askey". Most of the POWs would not take
part because the food was not good, and we were not fit enough to waste our energy in sport.
The worst Korean was one called "Quara Quenara" pronounced, "Cue-Ana". On one
occasion a man was caught by him trying to sell a pair of boots to the Thais. He slapped him
up and rubbed chili sauce in his eyes. He did not do these things for nothing, but when he
had an excuse he was a beast. As I have mentioned before the Nips and Koreans loathed one
other. The Nips regarded the Koreans as an inferior race and the Koreans retaliated when
they could. I saw Koreans beat up some inoffensive Nip1-Star privates, who wandered into
our camp to buy from the canteen. The Koreans were getting out of hand in the camp. They
used to gamble all night and get drunk. Shimozaki who bought my watch told me he lost
$200 one night. He borrowed my pack of cards
Page 40
and because he lost money he tore the cards up, but he did not replace my cards. Hattori had
lost all interest and spent his time drinking. He did not ill treat us but he paid very little
attention to anything. Then the Tiger arrived on a visit. He decided to smarten up the
Koreans. He was to inspect their rifles and give them some practice. They had hardly
touched their rifles for months. There were no guards around the camp. They built a
guardroom and one day the Koreans brought their rifles to the store to be cleaned. We had 8
of them in all. All but one had the strike shortened so that they were useless. This was
probably done in Singapore at the capitulation. There were ants' nests, spiders and all sorts of
things in the barrels. We were not supposed to clean these rifles but could hardly refuse. We
kept them in the store. Then one night the Tiger had a practice alarm. Quara came rushing up

to this store and pleaded with us from outside, Please to let him have his rifle! We slowly
woke up and passed it out of the back. They then went charging around in
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the dark pretending to be beating off an attack. They were useless soldiers and the Tiger, who
was a regular, was disgusted. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for us to have
killed all the guards in this camp and get free, but there was nowhere to go, and there were
100s of miles of jungle all around. There were some plans laid in Kanchanaburi to kill the
guards and escape. These plans were discovered by the Nips. The stupid officer who put
them on paper was severely dealt with. Another stupid officer was L.T. Col. McKellar, who
typed out the news we got from F's secret wireless set and left it under his bed, where it was
found by the Nips. He never disclosed where it came from, but from that time on the Nips
started searching us - till then, August '43, we had only been searched cursorily once or twice
in Singapore for stolen property, particularly the glass-cutting tools. They very nearly
discovered the wireless set at Kinsyo. We were separated from our kit and they started
rummaging. Two officers
Page 42
walked straight to the hamper the wireless set was in, and walked off with it right under the
Nips' noses. At various times I had taken from my kit - 25 yards of telephone wire, 2 pencils,
and 1 brass cigarette lighter (broken). I always hid my jack knife and have it today as a
souvenir. Sometimes I buried it, sometimes put it inside a hollow bamboo, sometimes in the
rice we had as haversack rations. The Nips used to take: -
Torches
Tools
Wire
Paper and pencils (any writing materials)
Knives
Money over $10
Uncensored books
and anything that took their fancy, such as my cigarette lighter. At River Valley Road some
of the POWs had hand grenades and pistols. Most of these were sold to the Chinese, also one
machine gun in parts. At Non Pladuk the Nips found 2 revolvers. The owners claimed they
were family heirlooms and got away with it. Just like their own swords.
Page 43
At Tonchan they found a wireless set, the owner said it was being used for instructional
purposes - luckily they did not find the batteries. Again they got away with it. Jerry Hawley
of our unit was caught, with 2 others, with a wireless set complete with batteries at
Kanchanaburi. They were beaten and questioned, Jerry died of his beating and one of the
others went mad.
At Kinsyo our bombers used to go overhead at night on their way to Bangkok, and sometimes
on fine moonlight nights we could see them. There were no Nip planes.

2/12/43 I went to hospital with amoebic dysentery. 2 days later Pavillard started me on a
course of emetine injections - 7 in all. This saved my life. It was the last course-but-one from
a supply bought by the Thai agent Pong. Pong was a member of the British Secret Service
and he used to bring up our canteen supplies. The emetine was supplied, to be paid for after
the war. Pong was in close contact with Percy Pearson of the FMS Volunteers, who was in
Bangkok with Borneo Coy. before the war. Pearson spoke Thai. We got our
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batteries, drugs and some news from Pong. Pong also brought up money for some of the
volunteers who had connections in Bangkok. Pong was very helpful and took many risks on
our behalf. I don't think the Nips ever suspected him. He used to give them treats on his
barge.
In hospital with me were Snuffy Craig and Major Brodie with dysentery. We were about the
only ones. The others (200 odd) were suffering from malaria, ulcers, scabies and
malnutrition, beriberi, etc. Snuffy Craig was the most extraordinary case of dysentery I ever
came across. He neglected to go sick until he was very ill, and was at death's door when they
started him on emetine. He had 30 injections of emetine, 10 of morphine, about 3 blood
transfusions and all sorts of other medicines, which were scarce. He was nearly moribund for
about 14 days, but, when he started on the road to health, he made a very quick recovery. If
he had been sick at Tarso he would have died without a shadow of a doubt. Major Brodie
was almost as bad. It was at Kinsyo Hospital I
Page 45
started recurrent B.T. malaria. Between Dec. '43 and June '44 I had about 20 attacks, one
every 10 days or so. At Kinsyo I was very well looked after. I had a tin of milk every day
for about 4 days. Liver occasionally, and about 4 eggs daily. I was well on the road to
recovery when the order came to evacuate the hospital to Tarso. This was the worst thing that
happened to me. I left a hospital where I was one of 2 or 3 dysentery patients, with plenty of
attention and good food, and went to a base hospital where everything was bad. There were
about 4,000 patients, 2,000 very sick including about 500 serious dysentery cases. I arrived
at Tarso on 13/1/44. Prof. Tom Silcock met me and I was put in the worst dysentery ward.
Here 10 or 12 were dying daily. I was on a platform on the opposite side of the hut from the
dying men. The first night was hideous with the smell, filth and feeble cries of the dying.
The orderlies were callous. I spent the night awake and helped attend the dying opposite.
The hut was swarming with bed bugs and all those who
Page 46
could walk used to sleep on the ground outside. There was one M.O. for 250/300 men and he
used to leave the dying men alone. There were no drugs to speak of, and if a man was
seriously ill he would pass them by. I have never had my faith in humanity shaken as at this
camp. This M.O. was in the habit of seeing the bad ward every day and the other not so
serious ward every other day. The convalescent ward he saw once a week. His round in the
morning took about 2 hours and he had the afternoon to himself unless he was seeing the
other wards. The chief treatment was by means of diet. The food was graded, so that the
most serious cases got the best, and the convalescent what was left. Eggs, purchased by the

officers' contributions and a levy on the workers' pay and from canteen profits, were the chief
addition to the diet. There were A, B, C, D, E and F diets. A diet was fluid: tea, and 2 pints
of beef tea daily. B was fluid, plus 2 eggs and rice. C diet was D diet plus 1 egg. D diet was
the normal hospital diet. Breakfast: 1 pint of rice. Dinner: 1 pint of rice and ¼ pint of
vegetable stew, usually containing soya beans.
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Supper: 1 pint of rice and ¼ pint of vegetable stew, as at dinner, and a little meat, and also a
baked rice cake, usually containing sweet potato or pumpkin. The food was terribly short and
the soya beans, although they were nutritious, did not agree with my disordered system, so I
had a relapse of dysentery. I lost weight gradually. My motions were of the order of 20
times daily. This was nothing; some patients went 150 times daily. I was moved to the less
seriously sick ward and was very glad to be in a cleaner, wholesome atmosphere. I started to
read a great deal in between whiles. The Library was the one bright feature of this camp.
The weather became dry and hotter by day. I slept outside every night and it was beautiful
there under the clear starlit sky. Each morning, as dawn broke, I watched it and thought of
the opening lines of Fitzgerald's poem:
Awake! for morning in the Bowl of Night
Has flung the stone that puts the Stars to flight:
And lo! The Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultan's turret in a Noose of Light.
I used to sleep near the latrine to save my strength. Bertie [Barry] Wright, who died in the
Tamajan bombing,
Page 48
slept alongside me and we used to talk of this and that until 2 or 3 in the morning very often.
The Nips very, very rarely came into the hospital area and never bothered us. There were lots
of "bludgers", men pretending to be sick so that they should not be made to work or go up to
Burma. Some would purposely keep their ulcers open. Quinine was fairly plentiful. Lots of
men would pretend fever and then sell quinine to the Thais at $1.00 a tablet. There were
several scandals in which orderlies were involved - selling drugs and stealing rings, watches,
cash and other kit from dead or dying men. These criminals were bestial. Some were
detected but the majority escaped detection. The men that sold the drugs deserved shooting
because it amounted to murder of their comrades, and when the quinine ran out later that year
some of them died for lack of the drug they themselves had sold. These men would do almost
anything. It was literally human nature at its lowest. I lost 4 stone and it became a struggle to
live. Tony Mills
Page 49
helped me by carrying me some washing water. The climb down to and up from the river was
something I did not attempt for 3 months. I used to bathe once a day in about 3 pints of
water. Bertie [Barry] Wright went swimming every day and would collect bits of cabbage,
onions and other refuse thrown out by the Japanese cookhouse into the river. I would pick
some jungle spinach - usually from near the mortuary, and then cook the lot in Gahan's pot.
We had an extra pint of vegetable stew this way about 4 or 5 times a week. I firmly believe

it was this that kept me alive rather than the cookhouse food. The cookhouse staff would give
their friends extra food from our rations, and the amount that came out of the back door about
equalled what came out of the front. Anyone who got "lagis" (extra) was very fortunate.
Share and share alike became a thing of the past and it was fight or die, and many a man who
was too weak to fend for himself, or who had no friends, died. I have few good things to say
about Tarso camp in those days. Tony Mills, Father Bourke, Johnny Johnston all
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showed themselves to be good men. Padre Thorpe was not bad - a good mixer, rather
inclined to be too hearty. The other C. of E. padre was despicable. Capt. Walker the SSVF
welfare officer never came near the hospital, except for the funeral of one of his men, but
lived like a lord in the officers' quarters. Captain Madge of the FMSVF looked after his men
very well and he did me a wonderful kindness. When I was at my lowest he gave me, out of
the Volunteer officers' fund, 12 eggs which did a great deal to pull me through. The trouble
usually was that their gifts arrived too late. A man had to be practically moribund before he
was given the extras to save him. Gunner Smith of the 125 Field Regt., who was a friend of
mine and who shared our stews, and eventually died at Nakom Patom, is a case in point. He
was critically ill with TB but only when his case was past hope did the MO order him to be
put on an extra egg a day - that is C diet. I was put on C diet after a period of about 5 weeks,
during which I lost 4 stone. We were weighed each week and if a patient gained
Page 51
weight he was almost certain to be taken off C diet. I never did gain weight until we left for
Nakom Patom, which blessed day was April 13th 1944. I must add a few more observations
about Tarso. My particular friends were:
Bertie [Barry] Wright (of Anglo Thai Corp.), a volunteer from Penang who told me that John
Dickinson had offered him the manager's job in Rangoon before the war. I was very
distressed to hear of his death when the POW train at Tamajan was bombed by American
Liberators on 8/12/44. Tommy Thompson looked after him and told me that Bertie was
splendid. One leg was off and his stomach was torn out but, although he was conscious for
about 6 hours, he did not complain but joked about his leg and continually drank water.
John Godber, also a volunteer in the FMS Armoured Cars. A big, athletic fellow with a keen
intelligence. He and I spent 6 or 7 months together at Nakom Patom, where I learned to like
and admire him. We had some fine discussions. At Nakom Patom we worked for a while
together as tin-smiths.
Gahan. I never knew his Christian name and I don't think any one
Page 52
ever learned it. A true Irishman. Born in India about 37 years ago. He was a great wanderer.
His father was in the Indian State Railways. He had lived in Calcutta with his parents during
the period, I believe, 1924/27. He had been to 16 boarding schools in his time usually
running away after a few weeks. He went to Capetown University and had worked in various
parts of the world. He had lived in France for some time and spoke an odd collection of

languages. He was a rubber planter for about 6/7 years before the war and I can imagine that
he and his manager had some rows.
The last 2 and myself were together at Nakom Patom and many an argument we had - it was
our most agreeable pastime, any subject would do.
Reg Cully of the AIF, Sydney. A Corporal in the AIF. An athletic, cultured man. Interested
in music and literature, and a great talker. He and I were in neighbouring beds in Tarso and
he sometimes joined in our discussions.
Jack Cox of the 118 Field Rgt. RA. From Liverpool - worked in the London and Scottish
Assurance. A very young chap of 20 or so. Again a great
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talker. A bit too much of a talker, however, and rather self-opinionated. A small, well-knit
man with a great interest in body culture and weight lifting and so forth. He showed his
photographs of himself before the war. He must have lost 6 or 7 stone.
There were a lot of others I grew to like in Tarso during those 3 months and I was not too
unhappy although the conditions were so terrible. We kept our spirits high in spite of
difficulties.
Now to go to Nakom Patom.
13/4/44 We went by train. The journey was good. We travelled behind coaches containing
Jap sick. They were in a bad way. They accepted tobacco from our men.
N Paton was reported to be a sick-POW heaven, with huts of wood with concrete floors,
water laid on, electric light, no Nip guards but Thai administration, good food, no work, etc,
etc. It lay 50 miles west of Bangkok. Work parties had constructed about 15 huts to take 200
patients. Each patient got 1 metre of space, as against the usual 18 inches.
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The walls and floor were of wood. The roofs of attap. Water came from boxes and was for a
time very short. Washing was impossible until the Monsoon came. Food was definitely good
with fresh vegetables, pork and coconut oil. In a short time most of the sick were on the way
to recovery. Other sick arrived from Burma and other parts of Thailand. The Burma sick
were in about the same condition as ourselves - the other Thai sick were not so bad. The
camp was administered by Lt. Col. Sainter(?) ("Joo-Itchi"), he was a Hebrew and not at all
popular, particularly amongst the Aussies. The Aussies used to play pranks on him. He
maintained a corps of MPs who were loathed. The medical staff was headed by Lt-Col
Coates of the AIF, previously senior surgeon in Melbourne Hospital. He was an
exceptionally fine surgeon, although his manner was very abrupt and he had a short way with
fools. Another Aussie, Lt.-Col. Dunlop, was a surgeon there. He was a more painstaking
type than Coates and the two did not "hit it off". Dunlop
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disliked Coates personally but admired his skills. Lt.-Col. MacFarlane, RAMC, a regular
Army British doctor was i/c of the dysentery section. He was hopeless, as nearly all the
regular army men were. Capt. Street of the Beds and Herts was i/c of our dysentery ward.
With much less work than at Tarso we improved. Roy Moulton of the FMSVF and Gunner
Smith died shortly after our arrival. I rapidly improved, although the dysentery continued. I
sold my cigarette case for $18 and changed the last $40 Japanese money into ticals. I did this
through the Japanese, and got 1 tical for each dollar, although the true value of a Japanese
Straits dollar was only about 10 setangs(?) or 1/10 tical. I shared this money with Joe Potter
and we had a couple of good months' food, because the canteen was excellent. There were
fried eggs, sambals, fritters, fried fish, bananas, peanuts, peanut toffee, kachang ijau (a type of
pea), soya beans etc. We spent about 30 cents a day each and as the ordinary ration was quite
good we both improved. Joe's trouble was that he ate unsuitable
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food. We avoided peanuts, peas, beans for a while to give our intestines a chance to heal.
But later on we used to buy ½ pint of cooked peas a day for 10 cents, which was very cheap.
Some Red Cross blankets arrived but, although I was using sacks, I did not get one. Many
blankets were being sold to the Thais by people breaking out at night. The whole thing was
organized to the last detail. They used to buy the clothes and blankets in camp (often they
were stolen from other POWs) and sell at enormous profits outside. I made an exchange of a
shirt. I gave my volunteer shirt, which was in good condition, for a Jap shirt and $5.00. The
money helped a bit. I heard that blankets were fetching $100.00 and shirts about $40.00. I
had my boots stolen (the ones I got for my watch in Sept. '43). I reported it to the camp
police, who of course said they could do nothing, and anyway they had probably been sold
outside by then. Then I searched every hut in camp, and by that time there were some 40,
each with about 200 POWs. Eventually I found my
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boots in the camp police hut. I had always suspected Winchester of the Gordons of being the
thief. When I noticed that the boots were under the bed of another Gordon I felt surer.
Winchester was arrested and put on charge. I was, of course, a witness. He had sold the
boots for $3.00 to this other man. The punishment was 10 days' work without pay. As at that
time we got 20 cents a day he made $1.00 on the deal! - for, of course, he had already spent
the $3.00 on tobacco. This was not exactly a deterrent sentence.
When all the dysentery patients were grouped together I moved in with Joe Potter, John
Godber and Gahan. Joe and I used to play bridge every other evening with Johnny Gregg and
Stanley Craig. We fixed up an oil lamp with coconut oil from the canteen at 60 cents a ¼ pint
and wick made from bandage, and I made a reflector using tin foil from a tea chest. The light
was one of the best in the hut. There were, I suppose, about 4 of these oil lamps in a hut of
200 - this was the brightest illumination we
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had had in all the time in Thailand. The electric light fittings were in this camp, but not the
electricity. We understood that the cost of the camp, $1,000,000, had been borne by the Red
Cross. Some of the Japs must have made a good thing out of it. I received 5 injections of
emetine when the American Red Cross drugs arrived in August '44. I was not exactly on my

last legs, but had started to go down the hill again due to a relapse brought on by working in a
drain being dug across the camp. Work started later on a huge dyke and ditch which went all
around the camp - I worked for 3 or 4 days and then had a relapse of malaria. One day on this
job we had a big daylight air raid on the railway bridge. There were 30 Liberators and it was
the biggest raid we saw at N.P. They dropped six salvoes and did a good job, as we saw when
later we moved from Tamuan to Bangkok. The Nips were terrified but we stood there and
laughed at them, which did not appeal to them.
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An order was issued that POWs were not to laugh at the Nips when they ran to the air raid
trenches. We had no slit trenches for ourselves till then but after the raid we dug trenches
around each hut. At the full moon we had night raids and the planes would get their bearings
from the pagoda or Wat in the town. This Wat was 400 feet high and an outstanding
landmark in that flat paddy-growing plain. The outline of this Wat, which was tiled in golden
tiles, was very striking, particularly with the sun setting behind it. This shape was something
like this:-
(Sketch) all this part covered in golden-coloured tiles.
The planes at night bombed the railway at the port of Pak Nam - usually about 12 or 15 miles
away. There were no raids whilst I was there on the aerodrome 1 mile outside the camp. On
this
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'drome there were several old Thai biplanes which took off in the daylight air raids. They
never attempted an attack however - they were more sensible. On one occasion 2 Nip Zero
fighters used the drome. The most 'planes we saw was 54 coming back from a raid on
Bangkok 50 miles away to the East.
The Nips allowed us concerts after we had been in NP about 2 months. Before that we were
not allowed any lectures, to whistle or sing. Of course, we had them and we also had plenty
of quizzes, in which I often took part. Hugh Llewellyn of the APC was our word master for a
while. There was a great change for the better in him. Before the war he was one of S‛pore's
most unpopular young men, putting on airs and making himself objectionable. He had lost all
of this and behaved splendidly - working most disinterestedly for camp welfare. He used to
run the quizzes. Before the war he had adopted a pseudo-intellectual pose - he had dropped
this, and he had worked hard - physically - in the improvement of the camp.
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N.P. was a very clean camp. We had several plagues of flies and every man made a fly whisk
and killed at least 20 a day. There were prizes of extra "douvers", rice cakes about the size of
a currant bun, for those catching most. Some turned in 700 or so flies daily. They would sit
all day long on the cook house killing flies. The bed bug position was kept in control. At
first the wooden plank floors harboured millions of them and sleep at night was impossible.
But we took all the nails out (which we used for repairing our wooden slippers - trompers),
and then took up the planks, killed the bugs by squeezing them, and then put the planks in the
sun and that killed the small ones. Then we ran the planks through fires to kill the eggs.

After doing this every few days for a month or so, we got the bugs under control and could
sleep at night. I made myself a wooden bed and used a tarpaulin I had had from Singapore
days as the part to lie on and it was as
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comfortable as a camp bed. I had good nights and that helped my strength back. Altogether
Nakom Patom was the most comfortable POW camp I was in. The majority of the sick
patients recovered fairly quickly, and it was largely due to the good, clean water we got from
the bores, and the fresh and more abundant food and then, of course, like a miracle, the arrival
of the American Red Cross drugs. In this shipment there were large supplies of
sulphonamide, which was involved in the treatment of tropical ulcers, pneumonia, pleurisy,
etc. I had bought 5 tablets in 1942 in Singapore and they had controlled my ulcers, in that I
was never in danger of an amputation. 1 I gave Harold Helps one tablet; I dressed his bad
ulcers and that saved his leg. When the American supplies arrived they were able to treat
Coleman (Anglo-Thai) for pleurisy and he had over 200 tablets, which pulled him through.
Someone stole 2,000 tablets from the store and, as they were worth about $2.00 each, there
was a big case about it. The thief was not discovered.
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I worked with Godber and Gahan as a tin-smith working for the cookhouses and the canteen
and camp welfare. My job was making mugs out of milk tins. I used to make the handles and
rivet them on with aluminium rivets. After a few days doing this I got quite expert and made
about 30 mugs a day. These were bought by the camp welfare out of canteen profits and
given to those without mugs. We were paid 4 cents per mug so we made about $1.00 a day.
This order did not last long because there were not many tins. We spent more time repairing
broken kerosene tins for the cookhouses. We also got cook's rations on this job - that is
double rations so we were never hungry. It was a good job. I did this for about a month and
then I took Joe Potter's job in the office of Col. Coates. Joe went into the avitaminosis ward
for treatment of oedema and for one month I worked as a clerk at
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hospital records, statistics, etc. It was very interesting. I had all the post-mortem reports,
classification of diseases, food and diet control sheets, etc., etc. A lot of these reports were
not intended to be seen by the Japs - particularly the hospital diary and when the Kempeis -
(Jap Gestapo) came to search the camp - we buried all the vital records in an air proof tin, in
the grave of a deceased patient. I have no doubt that these records have been recovered since
and, if I know anything about Coates, they will form the basis of a comprehensive report.
During several of the searches I was worried about my knife - but it was never discovered.
There was no wireless set at Nakom Patom; we used to rely on the contacts made outside by
the racketeers. There was an Eurasian Penang Volunteer who looked Chinese, who used to
go out at night disguised as a Chinese and meet a Chinese with a car in the village. He then
listened to news from Delhi and passed it on to a few of the POWs inside. By this means we
heard of the fall of Saipan
1 Small amounts of the tablets were scraped into the ulcers

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and the likely end of the war with Japan. We also heard about the invasion of Normandy and
the success of our forces at Caen. There were, of course, conflicting rumours ardently opined
by pessimists like Stonehewer (nicknamed Steinhower). Old Stoney used to join John
Godber, Gahan and me in our evening discussions, and we never ceased to find amusement in
pulling his leg. He was an incorrigible pessimist - saying that the war would last until we had
built up the Chinese, who would do all the fighting using British and US armaments. He
thought the end of 1946 the earliest possible date for victory. Stoney was a tall skinny man
with a very hooked nose, short wiry hair and outstanding ears. He was terribly ugly but
extremely likeable because he was so amiable. His chief retort to our leg pulling was, "You'll
see!". He thought the Nips were determined to exterminate all the POWs
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and did not give us one chance in 100 of coming through. All this in a very serious, slightly
malicious, manner. I once wrote a letter to myself purporting to come from up-country on the
railway in which I mentioned that everyone was dead or dying of malaria, dysentery etc. I
showed this to Stoney - he was completely taken in. He professed to believe all the bad news
or rumours and he would find dozens of arguments to counter any good news or rumours.
The only time he was really obliged to give credence to good news was over the Saipan show.
My own attitude was to believe hopefully at any time that the war could be over in 6 months.
I started this method of bolstering my spirits in January '44. It was 18 months before the war
did end so I had to revise my theory twice.
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Our talks in the evenings were not devoted to news all of the time. When "Stoney" was with
us, we used to hear a lot of theories to explain the news and the possible trend of events, but
we usually left the subject after ½ an hour or so and developed the conversation along any
suitable lines. As we had had about 3 years of practice in talking for 3 hours each night we
were quite expert in developing conversation along original lines. One finds after a few
weeks of being penned up without distractions such as wireless, cinema, music and books,
that one's mind turns for its occupation upon itself. Philosophy was one of our great subjects.
Religion was another. With Joe Potter, who was Rugger mad, we discussed sport; with
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John Godber we discussed agriculture, rowing, Australians, religion; with Gahan we arrived
at an argument about anything. It was difficult to argue with Gahan because he would never
concede a point or admit that he was beaten.
Some of the highlights of my nine months at Nakon Phatom
Christmas Day 1944.
Breakfast. Sweet coffee (no milk), one fried egg, rice bread.
Dinner. Battered steaks, Christmas pudding (made from tapioca flour, bananas and
ginger), sweet potatoes fried, fried pumpkin, pork pie and onions. Sweet coffee.
Supper. Christmas cake, margarine, banana fritters, sweet coffee.

Altogether the food this day was very good, but too much for most of us. I could not eat all
that was provided.
The Japs gave us some Thai
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whisky which we had in our coffee. There was about a tablespoonful each. During the
afternoon there were "races". The big men chose the little men as jockeys. There were about
8 races with different handicaps. There were bookies and sweepstakes. The best backed
horses were Lt./Col. Dunlop AAMC and Major ???, the Irish International Rugby forward.
Dunlop won, although he split his toe in the water jump.
In the evening there was a big concert "Alfs Ring" [?"Alp Ring"?]. The comedians Fizzer
Pearson and Griffith-Jones were very good. And so ended Christmas Day, which had been in
a way quite enjoyable. Naturally people's thoughts turned homewards and we all hoped to be
home by
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the following Christmas. Joe Potter and I went to the concert together and we found
ourselves next to some Dutch. They turned out to be Dutch civilians who had been
conscripted during the war. One was a professor of Oriental languages and we enjoyed his
conversation whilst waiting for the show to begin. I made several good friends amongst the
Dutch, but, as a group, the Dutch were cordially disliked by all the other POWs. They used
to ingratiate themselves with the Nips and do menial work for them, and try to obtain
advantages in excess of those given to the British, American or Australian POWs. So far as
the present trouble in Java is concerned all the POWs are on the side of the Indonesians. We
can appreciate that the Dutch colonial policy would be very oppressive and with the object of
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making the maximum amount of money with the minimum of trouble. "The trouble with the
Dutch is that they give too little and take too much." This is a very old maxim and is borne
out even in present day experience. The policy of self-abasement to obtain commercial and
political advantage has a continuous development, right through the days from when they
were the only Europeans permitted to trade in Japan and Siam in the 16th and 17th centuries.
In those centuries the Dutch used to crawl on their hands and knees before the Emperor of
Japan and the King of Siam to petition for trading rights. Other races such as the British
refuse to do such humiliating things merely to obtain commerce. By and large none of us had
any respect for the Dutch and there was constant friction. We used to admire
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them for their command of English and their ability to look after themselves but, man to man,
we had no liking or respect for them.
The Dutch were a mixture of wholly European Dutch and Eurasians. The Eurasians
predominated, there were about 70% of them to 30% wholly European Dutch. The Eurasians
varied from beige in colour to ebony and in fact I doubt if some of them had any white blood

at all. The colour of their skins did not make a great deal of difference to their status as
Dutch. Under Dutch law any person with any European Dutch blood became a Dutch
subject with all attendant advantages. There was the usual sense of inferiority amongst the
Eurasians but I was surprised to find that, on the whole, they were better educated and more
cultured than their fellow white Dutch. I think this was due to the high standard of advanced
education in Java. Nearly all of their schools taught English as a compulsory subject whereas
in Holland
English was a language taught after German and French, which were the two compulsory
languages.
Other high lights of Nakon Phatom
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The Canteen This was the best I came across as a POW. The management of it was largely
Volunteer and many of my friends had jobs there. Needless to say they were good jobs and
much sought after. The canteen staff used to get all the best food and they were paid in
addition. Although things became more difficult to get at the end of 1944, due to the shortage
of transport on account of Allied bombing, we were usually able to buy:-
Eggs (fried or boiled) at 12 ½ cts to 15 cts.
Bananas at 1 ct each
Peanuts at 10 cts a ¼ pint
Peanut toffee at 15 cts a piece 3" x 2 ½"
Fried Fresh Fish at 15 cts each, the size of herrings.
Tapioca flour bread at 10 cts a piece 1 ½" x 3" x ½"
Chili sambal at 5 cts a tablespoonful.
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These prices were not too high considering what they had to pay in Malaya at the same period
- $10.00 for one egg, and so on. We were paid 25 cts a day by the Japanese so one could buy
one egg and one piece of bread each day, that is if one was earning money by working. I did
not work much at Nakon Phatom but, by selling my cigarette case for $18.00, changing $40
Japanese Malayan currency into $80.00 Siamese, I usually had enough money to buy 2 eggs a
day. One could safely say that everyone in the camp averaged 1 to 2 eggs each day, which
made all the difference to their health.
The water Up the river when working on the railway we used to drink river water, which
during the rainy season was thick with mud and sand.
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I am sure the bad water contributed largely to the intestinal complaints of the POWs. At
Nakon Phatom all the water came from deep bores - about 250 deep. We put these bores
down soon after we arrived and the quality of the water was excellent. The food was
consequently much better cooked and the tea quite palatable. About Nov. 1944 we even had
bath water from these bores. Each day every man in camp got 3 gallons of washing water.
The result of this was that skin diseases got better. There had been a lot of ringworm, scabies,

impetigo, etc., and, with the cleaner water these were brought under control. I had my own
bucket, which I bought in July 1943 in Tonchan and had carried about ever since. With this I
was able to get two
baths a day. I shared with Joe Potter and we could wash such clothes as we had fairly
frequently that is about every third day.
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The beds. When we first arrived we all slept on the wooden floor. This was far better that
sleeping on the ground, or on the bamboo slats as we did up-country, but we went better than
this. It was not very long before most of us had scrounged wood and made camp-style beds.
I made a most comfortable one out of tarpaulin I had brought up from Singapore. I used to
pull it down every day and de-bug it so that my nights were quite comfortable. Later on we
lost our beds in a manner which made John Godber and me very annoyed. Capt. Bennett of
our hut announced that the Japs had ordered all beds to be handed in for firewood. We
decided to evade this order and we hid our beds. Bennett discovered
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them and forced us to hand them in. It was the next day that I discovered that Bennett and
most of the other officers had retained their beds. It was this sort of thing that sickened us.
The officers were always claiming special advantages. They were still being paid their usual
money, less deductions for accommodation, and they usually ended up with $50.00 per month
each, that is against $7.50 the working men got. Consequently, they were able to eat much
better than the men and, of course, they did no work. They grabbed all the best books from
the library, to which everyone contributed, and they spent the whole day reading, playing
chess and cards. With very few exceptions the officers were very selfish. Major Henley of
the SRA(V) was unselfish and gave all the SRA(V) men in
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camp - there were 10 of us - $4.00 each from his own pocket. Sometimes an officer who was
outstandingly selfish and useless would get his deserts - as in the case of Capt. Walker of the
FMSVF (Bousteads), who was the messing officer. He was discharged from the job, which
placed him in charge of the cookhouses. Lt./Col. Sainter IASC the Camp Commandant was a
bad case. This man, who had all the food and clothing he could require helped himself overgenerously
to the American Red Cross supplies that arrived in June 1944. It was said that he
was smoking Chesterfield cigarettes for months after. We got a ration of about 25 cigarettes
each from the Red Cross shipment. It is certain that he took a whole tin of cocoa for himself.
All this harping on unequal distribution of food may seem strange today, but at the time it
must be remembered that food was the most important thing in our lives, and if there was
inequality in distribution it caused the most outspoken comments.
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About the end of Dec. '44 the Nips decided that, as there were many fit men in camp, these
would be sent away to working camps. Every man in camp was paraded before the Nip
doctor (who was actually a dental student with 6 months medical training) and he picked out
those he thought fit to go away. I was at this time working in the office of Col. Coates and

made up the lists of men to go. I was not anxious to go but, when I was put on the list, I had a
struggle with my conscience and kept my name on the list. I left N.P. on Jan.13 '45 for
Tamuan. We had a good trip by lorry and barge. I arrived to find the food reasonable and
met many old friends whom I had not seen for a couple of years. There were Tony Mills,
Tom Evans, Maurice Gulliford,
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Charlie Woodcock, Donald Napier, Lincoln Page, Tony Lock and many others. In some
ways I was glad to be at Tamuan to see so many old friends. I did 2 or 3 days' work, and then
the officers were all moved out of the camp to go to a special officers' camp. John Craig,
Charles Thornton, Tiger Colthart [Coltart], George Keyser, Harry Toms, Johnny Johnston
were amongst them, and we all had a party the night before, with sweet coffee and cake
provided by the canteen. After this I got a job in the hospital office with Maurice, taking the
place of Arthur Saringeon[??], who was an officer. Unfortunately I went off my food and it
turned out to be yellow jaundice. I had this for 3 months from Jan. 30th till about April 28th
and I was in hospital the whole time. Pavillard gave me 1 pint of sugar and I was on a special
fat free diet, and did not
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do too badly in the grub stakes. I used to peel vegetables in the morning and get extra
douvers. Then the jaundice diet included 2 eggs a day and also extra vegetables. Pavillard
made rather a pet of me and kept me in for a longer time than most. At the end I was doing
the water fatigue - that is drawing the water from the wells for bathing the other patients. We
sometimes got a little extra food for doing this. Porky Gardiner, David Morrison, Charles
Woodcock, Pat Kennedy and I were all in the same ward. Every evening I used to go over to
talk with Tony Mills, Maurice Gulliford and Charlie Woodcock. Lincoln had a job in the
hospital office taking blood specimens for malaria diagnosis but he kept out or our
discussions for some reason. We called
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ourselves the "Thinkers". Every evening I would say to Charles, "Coming to Thinkers this
evening?" We usually did. Jerry O'Hare used to join us often. Here, our discussions were on
a more exalted level than those at N.P. with John Godber and Gahan and Stoney. We had
little talks about Art and Literature from Professor Hough, and about Architecture from
Lincoln. I never gave any talks because, frankly, the intellectual level of these chaps was a
lot higher than mine. Tony was a Double First at Cambridge, Hough and David Rintoul from
Kings, the same. Maurice and I, as earnest seekers after knowledge, were on about the same
level. Jerry O'Hare was a good deal behind in these discussions - his favourite subject was
commerce, which was a subject not popular amongst the rest.
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Sometimes Jerry, Maurice and I would join forces to pull the legs of the Government wallas -
that is Tony Mills, Tony Lock and Hough.
My best friends here would be Tony Mills, Maurice Gulliford and Charles Woodcock.
Lincoln and I had drifted apart somehow. I did see him in the afternoons sometimes when he

would give me some of the points in the Theory of Music. We both joined the choir and I
sang second tenor. I read a great deal at Tamuan - notably "Othello", "Hamlet", Ends and
Means, Eyeless in Gaza, Work Wealth and Happiness of Mankind, The Expanding Universe,
The History of Science - Its Relation with Religion and Philosophy. I found myself amongst
the fans of Aldous Huxley and we all decided that we preferred his philosophy
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to that of Shaw and Wells. Hough gave us two or three notable lectures - The Interpretation
of Dreams, W.B. Yeats and his Poetry, and Modern English Poets. (This reminds me that I
must get hold of the recently published book Poets of our Time 1900 - 1942 published in the
Everyman series). Hough was a great talker and experienced in the subject but withal he was
an intellectual snob. I think he and I clashed more than any of the others. If there is one thing
I dislike it is snobbery of any kind. David Rintoul made great efforts to be pleasing but I
cannot forgive him for his actions of selfishness in the past - particularly over the Library at
Wampo.
George Brice was one of my friends outside the Volunteer circle. He was at Heidelberg
University during the Nazi time and gave me an insight into the mentality
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of the Germans. He spoke with a German accent but he was not of a Teutonic point of view.
He was a schoolmaster from Worcestershire. I will look him up one day. George and I were
in hospital together for a long period and we used to play bridge together. I learned contract
bridge when I was in Kinsyo Hospital and at intervals I have kept it up ever since. Piquet is
another game I learned but there are very few people who care to play it. I am not fond of
solo or cribbage. My chief love in cards is bridge (contract) and I follow Culbertson in this
with Blackwoods 4 and 5 Club convention for slam bidding. Ken Warden, the Malayan
Bridge Champion, gave me some lessons at Kinsyo. He was very patient and careful but it
will take me a long time to get up to his standard. He was playing the game when
he was 14 years old together with Cartwright of the Chartered Bank. He beat the Austrian
champions in 1940.
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It was on New Year's Eve 1945 that the Nips shot a POW (of the Northumberland Fusiliers).
I came to Tamuan a few days afterwards and heard the whole story. Apparently he was out of
bounds, but he was definitely not attempting to escape. The Nip officer responsible has been
charged as a war criminal. I expect Lilley and some of our other officers will have to stay
behind in Malaya to get these war criminals charged. I hope I shall not have to do anything to
charge Cheeba - it might interfere with my plans somewhat.
This takes my journal up to April 28th 1945. We used to hear news from outside
occasionally, and I heard the night before we left all about the break up in Germany.
Page 87

Our news sources were from outside the camp now as the wireless set was out of action.
"Well-dressed" Thais were our principal source. Of course there were many rumours and
false news. For instance, the fake news that S'pore had been taken in 48 hours on Feb. 25th
1945. But we sometimes got the genuine stuff.
There were searches made of the huts every week or so. We nearly always had warning
because the Nips used to write their orders for the day on a board in their guardroom and one
of the chaps who could read Japanese would tell us what was going on. The Nips never
suspected that we could read their language. I used to hide my knife in the bank of earth
beside the hut or in the hollow bamboo. Once I was very nearly caught but
the only loss I suffered at this point was a broken cigarette lighter.
The canteen at Tamuan was poor and the prices very high. Eggs became 20/25 cents each
and bananas 2 cts each. We stole quite a lot of the mangoes, which grew in the camp.
44.
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On many occasions there were daylight air raids by four-engined planes on the big Tamakan
Steel Railway Bridge. It was finally completely smashed. One morning at dawn, about 12
four-engined planes flew around our camp very low, machine gunning all around the camp,
but not one bullet fell in our camp. They must have known POWs were there. It was a
thrilling experience. We were all outside cheering except those that had actually been
bombed by our 'planes, as at Tamajan on Dec. 8 '44 when Bertie [Barry] Wright was killed.

Part 3:
This part of diary relates to events 28 April 1945 to first news of Japanese surrender down
the well at Takuri - morning of 16 Aug. 1945. Then to evacuation to Bangkok/Singapore.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rec. 29/1/46
Continuation of Journal.
We now go on from April 28th 1945
45.
Page 1
When Dr Pavillard selected us from those in his ward that were not so ill, he told us that this
was the best party ever to have left Tamuan. As things turned out he was not far wrong.
I, Charles Woodcock, Tony Mills, Jimmy Brown, Porky Gardiner, the Mitchell Bros., the
Miller Bros., John Hinde, Griffiths, Thackeray, Ronny Todd, Capt. Young RAMC, were
amongst those who finally ended up in Takuri.
150 British left Tamuan on the 28th April and we had a very exhausting trip by rail to
Bangkok, crossing on the way a river in the pitch dark. The bridge across this river had been
bombed whilst I was at Nakom Patom and we saw how effectively the job had been done.
We had had nothing to eat for some time and at this river the Nips decided that we should be
given something to eat. There was the usual shortage of containers and I was lucky in that I
still had my old rubber-tapper's bucket.
Whilst it was raining a fatigue party was sent across the river to get the food. In charge of my
party we had Sgt. Gladman of the Beds and Herts; he was extremely nervous of the Nips and,
as a result, was left behind in the rush. Poor Gladman rejoiced in the nickname of 'The
Elephant Man'. The reason for this was because he used to be a keeper at Whipsnade Zoo.
There was quite a lot of bashing up on this trip. The Koreans were in charge and were taking
themselves very seriously. The 'Rocking Horse', one of the Korean sergeants, was in charge
of the party. He was quite popular with us because he
Page 2
knocked Yuki on the head with a changkol handle and Yuki eventually died. It was Yuki
that, on one occasion, said that he hoped all the prisoners would die, and if he could do
anything to hasten them on their way, he would do so. I never saw such malignant hatred
concentrated in any face until I met Yuki. He had some justification for hatred because, when
Malaya was attacked, Yuki was unfortunate to be caught. He was a civilian, and was kept
with some others in a railway goods wagon for three days without food or water. He was not
likely to forget this in a hurry.
Well, the 'Rocking Horse', who, incidentally was promoted to sergeant major after the Yuki
episode, was taking no chances with us on the way to Bangkok. He kept us confined to the
carriages, or rather wagons, most of the time. The guard in our wagon was not too pleasant
and gave poor old Gladman a bad time. There were fewer than the usual number in the

wagons, I think it was 25, but the two guards insisted on taking up most of the room. After
we crossed the river we had to push the train which we found on the further side up a long
slope to the station. Here they attached several coaches full of Thai and Nip passengers and
at daybreak we left on the last stage of our trip to Bangkok.
At Bangkok we found that the station had been severely bombed and there were large craters
all over the place. We were a poor-looking bunch compared with the well-dressed Thais.
They did not seem to bear us any animosity. Here the guards passed over to some Nip
guards, who looked a superior type to the Koreans, and we all were congratulating ourselves
on saying goodbye to our dear friends, the Koreans. The Koreans were all lined up and there
was a formal handing over, during which we were counted about ten times. As we went away
we wished the Koreans a fervent farewell. We were then whisked away on to a ferry and
soon found ourselves at the godowns where we
46.
Page 3
were to stay for a week. The Nip guards were not so good as we had at first hoped. During
the air raids of the preceding month, the water supply of Bangkok had been knocked out, and,
as a result, the supply for the godowns had to be carried from ponds about ¼-mile away. The
Nips had to provide the escort to and from the ponds and they were unwilling to do any more
than the minimum number of trips. As a consequence we were without water on the day we
arrived at the godowns for about ten hours, and it was a scorching hot day. The Dutch ran
this camp and they seemed to think it was a good place. The reason for this would not be far
to seek. The godowns were bombed about a fortnight before we arrived and there were big
holes in the roof. It rained several times whilst we were there and, as a result, we were
several times soaked with rain. When this happened, the guards were delighted. There was
an awful lot of saluting to be done in this camp. They confined us within the godowns all the
time we were not working except for a period of half an hour after roll call in the evening.
Every time one passed the guard on the way to get food or to get water one had to salute or, if
without a hat, bow. During my stay in this camp we worked on two occasions at night in the
godowns. This was a wonderful opportunity to do a bit of stealing. I got away with several
blocks of writing paper, some biscuits, and sugar. The sugar was very pleasant to eat after so
long without and the biscuits helped to fill up the empty spaces. The paper was, however, the
best haul because at that time there was a great shortage of paper for rolling cigarettes and I
sold three sheets for ten cents, making about fifteen ticals for my three blocks.
There were the usual searches made after the work was over for the night but I was able to
keep the paper under cover. Some Dutch were discovered and kept at attention for several
hours.
Page 4
The goods we were moving consisted of shoes, shirts, shorts, biscuits, paper, soap (of which I
got two tablets), sugar, peas, beans, dried fish and a few other odds and ends. All this stuff
was intended, I believe, for the armies then on retreat from Burma. Whilst we were in this
camp we were fed well on meat and plenty of vegetables, but there was always a shortage of
water. The latrine had been hit by one of the bombs and there were a lot of flies about which
made an outbreak of dysentery likely. I was glad on the whole to move from the camp. The
chief reason was that there was so little liberty.

150 of us went on to Takuri. We went by truck to Lopburi, where there was an aerodrome
and for two days we worked on repairing the runway. We were quartered in an old hut that
had been machine-gunned and we were badly over-crowded. Then we went by train to
Takuri. The long wait of seven hours in the open train without water was rather distressing.
When we arrived at Takuri we were quite overcome by the heat and lack of water. During the
wait at Lopburi station the Thais kept throwing us bundles of cigarettes and a little fruit.
They certainly showed where their sympathies lay. The Nips tried to stop the Thais from
throwing these things to us, but without success. One Thai girl had two eggs which she
wanted to give us but the Nip sergeant saw her and grabbed the eggs and threw them on the
ground. The girl then picked up a stone and we thought that there was about to be a riot. To
our disappointment the Thai girl thought the better of it and dropped the stone. The Nips
were under instructions not to let us have contact with the Thais but, at the same time, they
were not to get involved in incidents which would give the
47.
Page 5
Thais an opportunity to have a go at them. It was at this station that one of the POWs was
given a message by a Thai to the effect that, when the time came, we were to run away from
the Nips and join up with the Thai army. At this time we paid no attention to such seemingly
irresponsible messages. We were to learn later that there was a good deal more going on than
we thought. It was about this time that the first parachutists were dropped into Thailand. We
had no idea of this at all but it is more than likely that the Thais at Lopburi knew all about
them. Lopburi was the HQs of the Thai army and we were to learn later that, in preparation
for the invasion of Thailand, our Secret Service had made contact with the Thai army and
they were to come in on our side. Without an indication of this, how were we to know that
the message from the Thai was genuine?
We arrived in Takuri in a storm of rain and there was a rice-carrying fatigue for a start. We
were most of us glad of the rain because we could quench our thirst. Tony Mills, Charles
Woodcock and I moved in together. Our neighbours were Jock Isdale and Andy ?. These
two were a couple of dour Scotsmen, and Jock was really rather a bore, who could talk of
little except his pub in St. Andrews, where the golf-fiends come from. They were much
better neighbours than the roughs out of the 9th Coast Regt. we had as neighbours at Wampo.
The huts that we found at Takuri had been put up by Thais and were very poorly constructed,
but we had to put up with them for a while. We cleared a large extent of jungle ready for
about six large huts, this under the direction of Tamuan Charlie,
Page 6
the only Nip we had brought from Tamuan. Tamuan Charlie was the works sergeant at
Tamuan, and not at all popular amongst the POWs. We felt that, if we could only get rid of
him, we should be able to train the other ones to the way we wished. There was one other
Nip officer there, a great oaf of a man, who obviously was homesick for his farm in Nippon.
Farmer Giles always treated us pretty well and very rarely did anything but stand and watch
us work. The work was not hard and for the first three weeks we fed from the Nip
cookhouse. We did not get as good food as the Nips but there was always enough rice.
There was an outbreak of a peculiar complaint we called 'Broken Bottles'. We believed it to

e due to the shortage of water when we first arrived; certainly it was very painful and I had
rather a bad attack. For several days I was passing blood. My own theory was that this
complaint was due to the unusually large quantities of fat that we were getting in the Nip pork
stew. When we went on to our own rations, then the quantity, and also the quality, fell off.
Quinine was very short when we came up because we had been told, in the usual way, that we
should get supplies at the other end. We ran out in a week or so and it was lucky for us that
there was a decent Nip doctor who gave us a supply out of his own stocks. As it was, quite a
lot of chaps developed Blackwater fever and we had five deaths in four months. Capt. Young
of the Malay Regt. was the leading light in this camp at the beginning. The Dragon, that is
Sgt. Major Osbourne, was completely hopeless. As a regular soldier we never expected very
much from him in the way of brains, but he was equally bad at keeping discipline. Although
Osbourne was nominally in charge of the camp, it was Young that got things done. As an
MO, Young was not supposed to have anything to do with the routine work of the camp.
Tony Mills was early on picked out by Young to look after the Canteen, and, in addition,
Tony did the library on his own initiative. Charles and I did
48.
Page 7
the normal work like the others. We learned to do the Tonga Trot whilst carrying stretchers
loaded with soil or rocks. (The Tonga Trot is a very slow walk.) I should add that a tonga is
a sort of stretcher made out of two bamboos and a sack. The Nips on the aerodrome used to
try and make us work hard, but with very little success in our case. Our reply to cries of
'Speedo' would be that he died in 1943. The food became very poor. Each meal consisted of
rice, kangkong and a very little pork. It became very monotonous and most of us developed
Pellagra.
I had pellagra for three months until the war ended. It got so bad that I could not eat my food
until it was cold and I was unable to smoke. Also I got pellagra rash on my legs. The doctors
were 'tida apa' about things like this and, in point of fact, they were, on the whole, a lazy lot.
They, and the Eurasian medical orderlies, were generally disliked throughout the camp. I will
make an exception in the case of Young. Most of these MOs and orderlies had been looking
after the poor Tamils in the coolie hospitals around Kanchanaburi. From all accounts they did
not do much beyond look after themselves. I heard an authenticated account of how they
would inject the Tamils with distilled water and then sell the proper drug that should have
been used. These doctors, I dare say, were so used to dealing with coolies that they could not
get out of the habit when they came to us. Their manners when the workers came to have
their sores dressed after a day on the 'drome were disgraceful. Most of the men developed
sweat sores and these became septic. The treatment for sweat sores was very primitive, being
merely a dab of pot. permang. and not even a dressing. I was unfortunate enough to get a
good crop of sores.
Page 8
It was about three months before my sores cleared up. The marks of them are there today.
When we finished work on the 'drome we stopped on the way back to have a bathe. This was
the best moment of the day. The water was not exactly clean as it was shared with waterbuffaloes,
but it was a good deal better than having to wash out of a mess-tin containing
perhaps two pints. On several occasions men were attacked by large leeches; I was on two
occasions so attacked. These leeches were very large - about four inches long and, when

empty, as thick as a pencil, but, after having had a feed they became distended to ½ inch
diameter. They were difficult to disengage and it was only after having had the hint from a
Dutchman that I found the best way was to use tobacco. After soaking the tobacco for a few
seconds, and then squeezing the juice on the end of the leech, it would reluctantly loosen its
grip. The puncture made by the leeches lasted for a long time, the blood oozing from the
wound for about three hours. These were buffalo-leeches so no wonder they had a good time
with us. Our work on the aerodrome was to get together supplies of stone and laterite to resurface
the landing strips. There were about 30 Nip fighters using this strip, none of them
looked much good - they were probably out-of-date Zeros.
A month of so after we arrived all the Nip planes went away. On fine days we sometimes had
visits from the RAF. We were quite pleased at this, because we thought that they would see
from their reconnaissance photographs that we were POWs in the camp. How mistaken we
were we did not know until after the show was over. The strength of the camp was built up to
1,500 men over a period of three months, and the Nips ordered the construction of a dyke all
around the camp, as was their usual practice. We finished 200 metres of this before the big
push to get the 'drome completed. I never worked on the dyke because I was helping to dig
the wells and, as a matter of fact, did the divining for three of them. The first well
49.
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was not a success and I put my name forward as a water-diviner, knowing that the diviningrod
would react in my hands. The Nip officer showed some interest but when he found he
could not do the same thing he became rather sceptical. However it was decided to give me a
trial and the first well was dug, with myself as one of the nine diggers, in the spot I indicated.
We struck a spring at 7 metres. This was better than the result in the first well. We made the
wells 11 metres deep. At about 9 metres the sub-soil gave way to rock in isolated pieces and
without the proper tools it was impossible to dig much further. We used to break many of the
tools. The same old shovels made from kerosene tins and cast-iron picks were provided. It
was hard work battering away with the picks into the conglomerate. We worked in shifts -
each of six hours. On each shift there were nine men. Three men would be down the well at
the same time, two men worked at pulling the dirt up by rope over our home-made pulley, one
man worked at swinging the basket of dirt off the pulley on to the side, and the others carried
the dirt away in baskets to the heaps around the clear sides of the well. We all worked in our
'fandouchis', Japanese for loincloth. This was a sensible dress for the climate, although I
suppose it would shock some. The wells were three metres in diameter at the top. The sides
sloped inwards very slightly - that was where the skill came in. We did not use any revetting
so there was some danger of a collapse - we never had any trouble, however.
When we got into the water region we had to do constant baling which slowed down the work
to half the speed. This job was very popular because it meant that the men engaged on it were
free for the
Page 10
morning, or the afternoon, as the case may be. We worked it so that we had the morning off
one day, and the afternoon on the next day. The ordinary workers were rather jealous of us.
As we worked through till 2 o'clock one day that meant that we ate our dinner from the
cookhouse and consequently got double rations. The next day we would get double rations
for supper. All this was a very useful addition to our food. The well party was well known in

the camp for feeding well. We dug three wells in all. The third was not completed when the
war ended. On the morning of August 16 th , our shift was down the well at nine o'clock, and
Charles and I were down the well when the others came rushing along to tell us that the war
was over. Charles, in his cautious way, said that he would believe that story when the
relieving troops arrived. I was prepared to believe it or not - I kept an open mind. We went
on with the work for about two hours, but the story became so strong that, in the end, we
came out of the well to see if we could learn the truth. I found that the Nips had announced
that there would be no work, that there were discussions going on between the commanders
of the two armies, we were to remain calm, not be afraid of bombing, the sentries were not
going to harm us, we were to carry on with normal camp work, in two or three days they
might be able to tell us some news which would be something we had been waiting for. This
did not say in so many words that the war was over, and the men began pestering the officers
for more definite news. The officers replied that they knew no more than had been
announced by the Nips. I, personally, did not believe this. I thought that the officers knew
more definitely, and particularly as they went around shaking hands with each other. For
three more days there was nothing more, and the men began to lose hope, thinking it was no
more than Peace-Feelers, as had been put out before. The work on the well went on, with
some men working hard and others not, on the assumption that the well would never be used
by us.
50.
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It must have been the 19th or 20th that we really became assured that we were free. An
officer of the parachutists arrived by a 'plane flown by the Thai airforce, and we all clustered
around to hear the news. He seemed a bit shy to be surrounded by a mob of naked and ragged
POWs and told us nothing; but we heard of the result of his conversation with Young, Barnett
and the other officers. We were told of the use of the atomic bomb and the entry of Russia
into the war against Japan. This parachutist was the first free man on the Allied side that we
saw. He was dressed in Pacific Green uniform and to our eyes looked a god, no doubt that
was why he felt so shy. The night before we had had a concert and, right in the middle of it,
Lt. Col. Lilley of the Sherwood Foresters, who was our popular commander from Wampo
days, Maj. Barnett, Lucas, and several others, arrived from Pratchai. He was given a terrific
welcome and the concert was forgotten. He made a little speech and promised us more news
as it became available. Actually, I suppose this was the time when I was really convinced
about the war being over. The atmosphere became intensely exciting after this, and we kept
our little coconut oil lamps burning practically all night whilst we huddled around on the
bamboo slats talking of the great news. What impressed me more than anything was the news
of the atomic bomb. It seemed to make the possibility of another war quite unthinkable.
After coming out, it is very disheartening to hear people talking of the next war. We were
very impressed by the stories told by Percy Pearson, the man who worked for Borneo Co.
before the war, who had acted as the Thai interpreter and kept us supplied with news during
all these years. Percy had come up with Lilley from Pratchai.
Lilley and his party went away the next day and things began to happen rapidly from then.
Page 12
Firstly there was a good deal of money brought in by the paratroopers to be spent on extra
food, and it was poured out like water. We started by buying a herd of cattle. The herd that
we had from the Nips had been 'lost' by the cowmen the day after the war ended. It was

generally believed that the cow-men made a good thing of their last excursion outside the
camp. We found that the new cows were decidedly superior to the ones that the Nips had
provided for us. Sometimes the bullocks arrived just in time to die on our hands. We now
entered upon an orgy of meat eating, which was not too good for some of the chaps. I found
that I could not eat half of the meat that the cookhouse now provided. Now that the war was
over, and the necessity for scrounging extra food had gone, there was not much anxiety to
work in the cookhouse and there was a strike. The Australians filled the gap. The food as
cooked by the Aussies was much better than that cooked by the English.
I was offered a job in the canteen, my first staff job(!), and took it because Charles at the
same time took over the job of accountant from Ginger Pass (a rogue if ever there was one).
We worked hard on distributing the supplies of eggs and bananas that were bought with
canteen funds, that is the money brought by the paratroops. There were about ¾-million
ticals in all - equal to, before the war, £68,750 - equivalent then to £12,500. This was for the
purchase of food for 1,500 men! As eggs were then 20 cents each they could buy over 30
eggs per man. Needless to say that this money was never spent. The Thais came with gifts of
food and tobacco, which even further added to the glut of food. A large party of men who
had been on one of these death marches came in. There were about 1,500 of them, including
my friends Jack Cox (Liverpool) and Roy Fay. This party had marched about 450 miles
when the end came. They had not suffered many deaths but the casualties
51.
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would have been high if the end had not come when it did. They lost 28 men in four or five
weeks. Some men escaped and later turned up fit and well, having spent the time with the
Thais. Amongst these was Bill Whiteside, who was with me at Nakom Patom. These men
brought with them a case of smallpox, and it was due to this that we were penned up at Takuri
for three weeks. The day for evacuation by air to Rangoon was the 16th Sept. It was very
shortly after this date the first Dakotas came and soon they were taking away 60 or 90 men
daily. A party of sick men went down to Pratchai and were evacuated the same day.
Amongst them was Tony Mills, who had been very ill with dysentery. At one time I had
begun to despair of Tony coming through. For the intervening three weeks the Dakotas were
working on evacuation of men from Saigon, Bangkok, and other bigger centres. They used to
come to visit us and drop supplies of clothing, tinned food, books, magazines, drugs, games,
and sports equipment. When these supplies came, I had the job of sorting them for
distribution to the different battalions. I cannot say that it was a very enjoyable task, but I did
at least have the satisfaction of knowing the distribution was done fairly. My turn for
evacuation was with the AIF to Bangkok after all the British had gone to Rangoon. We had
two false alarms but, on the day that there were 25 Dakotas, we were finally off to Bangkok.
We left in a welter of farewells. Everyone was saying goodbye to everyone else. Most of the
POWs had by this time got hold of decent kits and they looked fairly respectable. There had
been the usual 'flogging' of kit by the usual men, but as there was better food most men were
content to keep what they were given. We were supposed to stay inside the camp except for a
short period
Page 14
after evening roll call, but this rule was universally ignored. For myself I was unable to spare
the time to go out very much, but those that did had a good time with the Thais, by all
accounts. The train the Aussies and the Malayans went down to Bangkok on was very slow,

ut, as we were in 2nd class coaches, we were fairly comfortable. At Pratchai some of the
Aussies missed the train. On the way down we raffled off some of the Nip swords. There
were about 120 for distribution amongst 1,500 men, but I was unlucky. Thackeray and
McCubbin were the lucky volunteers. When we arrived in Bangkok the city was in darkness
owing to the civil war in progress between the Thais and the Chinese. There were Ghurkhas
on patrol, and we were told that some POWs had been involved in the trouble. We drove
through the darkened city to the racecourse. This was full of Dutch. We volunteers were
made to feel here that we were no-one's baby. Father Bourke, who was our senior member,
became rather difficult to find and we were altogether rather lost. I kept chasing Fr. Bourke
for information, and he did get me Mother's cable through the Red Cross. I felt very
miserable at the possibility of waiting in Bangkok for weeks and weeks whilst they fixed up
ships.
We moved from the racecourse to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, where we found lots
of other forgotten men like ourselves. Roden, Boyer and Fleming were amongst them. The
C. of C. was all right, so far as sleeping accommodation was concerned, but the food was
terrible. It was better, of course, than Nip rations but the trouble was that there was a big
racket in selling the rations. Whilst I was there, there was a theft of ten cases of milk, which
did not leave much for us. The temptation to steal was very obvious because there were very
few restrictions on movements, and the prices outside were so high. I believe they got about
10 ticals for each tin of milk. Some men went into bigger rackets than this; they armed
themselves and went with the Thai police to Nip civilians' houses and robbed
52.
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them of their jewellery and money. This type of activity was condoned by the authorities. I
think that we are going to have a great deal of trouble with some of the POWs and other
troops when they are demobilised. The trouble with military training is that it encourages the
use of force as a legitimate method of achieving an object, and the principles to determine
what is permissible and what is not, are not learned at the same time. I was told that looting
was an offence punishable by death, but never heard of any case in which a severe penalty
was inflicted. The Nips have much severer penalties for thieving and looting than we have,
and it is unheard of for a Nip to be found stealing from his comrades. This is one thing I
liked about them. Their discipline was much better than that in either the British Army or the
AIF. On one occasion two Argylls were caught stealing from their comrades and the Nips
wanted to shoot them, but our people would not permit it. I honestly think that this was a
mistake. If these men had been shot for the offence, there is no doubt that there would have
been much less trouble afterwards from thieves. Generally, thieves were punished by having
their pay stopped for a few days - this was hardly the sort of punishment that would deter a
determined thief. The Nip practice is to cut off the hands of a thief - this is barbaric but
effective. On one occasion, two Gordons were caught in possession of the entire kit of Gerry
Moxon (SSVF) - to preserve the good name of the regiment the whole thing was hushed up!
The thieves lost the privilege of buying from the canteen for two weeks. As they had plenty
of money through selling their spoils, and they were able to buy from the Thais, I think this
punishment worried them very little.
One of the most obvious results of the confinement on many of the men was that they lost
their sense of right and wrong. I'm not sure that some of them ever had much idea.
Page 16

Sometimes, I would be the confidante to whom a life's history would be related. This was the
usual practice of the men I found myself next to in hospital and, as I was in hospital for 14
months without a break, I heard many life histories in that time. It was interesting, and
disturbing, to note that, in the life of practically all the men I slept next to, crime of one sort or
another was just the accepted thing. There was the butcher who spent enjoyable and
profitable weekends in the country, coming home on Sunday with a couple of sheep in the
back of the car. Then there was the lorry driver who made himself a cemented backyard with
material that he should have delivered to the site of an underground munitions works. Lorrydrivers
and builders' labourers seem to be a particularly bad crowd for getting 'perks'
(perquisites). Amongst the regular soldiers, the quartermasters were quite proud of their
ability for making a bit 'on the side'. The racket here was to sell the rations to the civilians.
During the war at home this seems to have been quite the understood thing. I found a little
amusement in drawing out these chaps to tell all about themselves. A cigarette was usually
enough to get a start made with the story. I also got some amusement in noting how that,
once a man was dead, he became a sort of hero although whilst he was alive he might have
been the biggest rogue in camp. People would go about saying nice things about 'Tom'
although whilst he was alive no-one had a good word to say for him. They were soon
forgotten though. People had too great an interest in staying alive themselves to pay too
much attention to the dead. We became very callous.
To return to life in Bangkok after the peace.
Owing to the shortage of occupation troops we had to do guard duty. I was on guard twice
during the week
53.
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we were in Bangkok. Our main job was to see that men came back in an orderly fashion by
11 o'clock. Of course, they very rarely came back by even one or two in the morning, and
certainly not in an orderly manner. As this was an Aussie outfit nothing was done about the
drunks except to put them in the guardroom until they recovered. Some of them were very,
very drunk indeed. After being without strong drink for three and a half years, the men
became drunk on two or three bottles of beer. I kept off the liquor, as I knew that it was
particularly bad for a man recovering from dysentery. We were allowed to draw money up to
300 ticals but, as I saw nothing I wanted to buy, I took only 180. It transpired later that this
money was a gift from the RAPWI organisation. I missed 120 ticals through not taking the
money in Bangkok. I thought I should be able to draw the balance in Singapore. This was
not so. Many men drew their 300 ticals several times over, just going to a different pay office
each time. I always thought that the money was to be deducted from accrued pay; actually it
was a free gift.
The long-hoped-for day that we should move by 'plane to Singapore at last arrived. We went
the previous night to the aerodrome and spent a comfortable night on real beds, the first we
had had for many, many months. The 'planes were drawn up on the 'drome ready for an early
start. There must have been about 40 of them. Six o'clock found us out of bed and at first
light, that is at 8 o'clock, we were away. This was my second trip by 'plane - the first was as
Norman Berg's first passenger when he had learnt to fly. Poor old Norman joined the RAF
and within six months he was a 'gonner'. The trip to Singapore was very smooth until we
were an hour out of our

54.
Page 18
destination and then the 'plane hit bad weather and we were thrown about quite a lot. No-one
was sick, though; we had been warned to eat very little for breakfast before we started. The
'plane was a Dakota - the general transport 'plane of the RAF. On arrival at Singapore we
were met by Red Cross girls, who gave us cigarettes and chewing gum, and then we were
whisked off to the camp at Half Moon Street without any delay. Here we found 600 other
POWs who had come from different places. Some were from Sumatra, others from Indo-
China and Borneo. We were impressed with the arrangements made for our reception. There
were new tents, beds, mosquito nets and clothes. We got everything necessary to make us
respectable. The next day there was a medical inspection and I reported that I had still a little
trouble with the dysentery. I was put straight into hospital. In hospital the first person I saw
was Aub Watson, whom I had last seen at Nakom Patom in January. He put me wise to all
the wrinkles. The food was not so good as at the reception camp, as there were too many
rackets being worked. The beds were proper hospital beds and I felt rather diffident about
accepting all this comfort when I was, after all, not very sick. When I looked around,
however, I saw that there were very few really sick men in the hospital. Most of them would
stay in bed in the morning, and put their clothes on in the afternoon and go out into the city.
The majority were just having a jolly good rest. I was troubled with stomach pains and, after
being tested for amoebic dysentery with six negatives, I was treated with sulphaguanidine,
with very good results. I have had no trouble since this course of 300 grains. The staff was
not drawn from ex-POWs. They were all from Australia and had been especially sent over
for this job. Some of the MOs were pretty hopeless but we all thought the QA sisters first
rate. As the first women we had met for 3 ½
Page 19
years, they were something of a novelty. We got on splendidly with them and I think they
must have been told not to be strict with us because I never heard a murmur even when chaps
came in long after lights out. I made friends with the MO of our ward, and was given
permission to go to Singapore whenever I wished. I went down almost every day. I met Mr.
Horne who had come over with the Aust. Red Cross. He seemed to be quite out of touch with
Guthries. I had a feeling that they do not want him any more. He looked much fitter than I
had known him, and there is little doubt that the four years in Australia had improved his
health. Mr Horne was of the impression that Guthries might not wish to open up on their
import business again in Malaya. I suggested that, in that case, there was an opportunity to
start a new firm to develop their old agencies. He agreed, and we discussed ways and means
of starting a new firm. I have very little regard for Mr. Horne's business capacity, but I think
that, if we went in together, we would do all right. He has the name and would probably be
able to get overdrafts, and I should supply the main motive power behind the business. In any
case, he would wish to retire in about 8 or 9 years, and then the full control would fall to me.
I should have to buy him out but with good trading during the next few years the money
should be easy to save. This is all rather past history for, as I write, Guthries have decided to
come back in full strength. I am in a quandary whether to go back to them or not. I saw
many of the Chinese merchants whilst I was in Singapore. They have come through this
thing better than I thought they would. Most of them have retained their property and many
have turned the years of Japanese occupation to good account. They made high
Page 20

profits in Jap dollars and bought jewellery with the proceeds. They told me grim tales of the
torture by the Kempeitai and I can believe these tales. I feel that the Chinese that have
suffered most have been the politically-conscious ones, and not the merchant class. The
communists, of course, suffered more than any. The credit of the Chinese merchants is
almost as good as it ever was. The town has not suffered much material damage. The chief
trouble is the scarcity of consumption goods. This has led to the development of a big black
market. For miles through the streets there are little stalls selling looted and black market
goods. I saw my golf clubs for sale in one little stall. I was able to get into the old mess, and
found that the Nips had divided the rooms in two and that there was a certain amount of
furniture still there. The radio and all the small stuff had gone and there was a refrigerator
there in place of the one we used to have. I stored away some furniture, but the Chinese who
had rented the house, claimed the refrigerator was his property. I know he was lying because
in the presence of Ong Boon Seng he told me that he had bought it the week before, but to
substantiate his claim he produced a bill dated July 1943. I could not claim the fridge as my
property but I felt that I had a better claim to it than he had. I saw the police about it and they
promised to investigate. All my photos had gone and I was unable to trace Wong the head
boy, whom I had telephoned on Feb. 12th 1942 to hide away all our papers until after the war.
If he ever came back I should most certainly give him a good present, because Wong was a
very good servant. I am rather afraid he became one of the victims of the Nip purge. I left a
note for Wong in the Hailam Kongsi. If he is still alive, he will come to me when I go back.
Getting about was difficult. The best way for men in uniform was by thumbing jeeps. The
drivers of these jeeps were seldom anything but road hogs.
To be continued.
55.

This part of diary relates to stay in Singapore during Sept./Oct. 1945
Rec 20/2/46
Continuation of Journal
56.
Page 1
During my stay in Singapore I visited many of our old Chinese dealers and had Chinese
dinner several times with them. The Chinese food was the best that I had during my three
weeks in Singapore. We went to a Teochew place in Havelock Road three times and had all
the usual dishes. There was shark's fin soup, bird's nest soup, prawns, lobster, and other
seafood. The cost of these dishes was very high compared with pre-war prices. One dinner
cost as much as $30 or, say, £2/10/-, per person. When we had beer with the meal that cost
$3.00 a small bottle. One evening I had dinner with Goetzee and Vincent of Fraser & Neave
who were running the brewery. On this occasion, we had simply everything that we were
accustomed to before the war. There was a turkey, which had been in cold storage for four
years (and it was delicious), asparagus, stuffing, new potatoes, apple pie and all sorts of prewar
drinks. These included 25-year old brandy, hijau (crème de menthe), good sherry and, of
course, whiskey and beer. I heard that this was the first opportunity that these chaps had
attempted to do any entertaining since they were free, and they certainly made a good job of
it. There were three of the sisters from the hospital there and two Australians who worked in
the Red Cross. One of the men was Stan Simmonds from Gilbey's, Sydney. It was Stan that
provided the gin and whiskey.
I was pleased to notice that the brandy and crème de menthe were Guthrie brands. This was
the first occasion that I had anything strong to drink but, with the sisters' approval, I had some
beer and a liqueur brandy afterwards, and thoroughly enjoyed both. We all went back to the
hospital together and although it was long after lights-out I was covered because I was with
the
Page 2
sisters. On the other occasions that I was out after lights-out I had some difficulty in getting
transport back to the hospital, which was 7 miles out of town. After the dinner with LPK at
the Great World, we set off back in the car that he had bought that afternoon, but after a
couple of miles it broke down and we had to push it back to his house. We were lucky to be
able to get a taxi and we went out together and he footed the bill, which was terrific. The
normal charge for a taxi to town from the hospital was $6.00 (say 14 shillings), but on this
occasion, as it was after midnight, the bill was double. LPK was doing very good business by
buying Japanese stores from the Govt. and re-selling at the controlled price. He told me that
the Govt. officers in charge of price fixing were making their fortunes on the side, and I can
well believe him. He did not say that he was making a fortune himself - it was not necessary
to make that point. LPK showed me his store, and it was full of Japanese sugar brought over
from Java before things got difficult. He also had large stocks of tapioca, peas and beans.
LPK showed no inclination to do any business with me, and I was rather curious to know
why he had gone to the trouble and expense of entertaining me. I suppose he was building up
good will for the future. The brothers and the old man were all very well, and they did not
seem to have suffered much beyond the loss of their three cars. Ong Boon Seng was another
Chinese that entertained me very well. We were hoping to do business in Australian

products. I gave Teng Kee and Joo Kee a certificate that we had taken over the contents of
their food store for the military on Feb.15th 1942. This was the business known as Bun Bee
that I had prevented from being looted on the afternoon of the day that Singapore fell. They
were grateful and put the matter in the hands of Kenneth Seth of the battery, who is a lawyer,
and had been one of the men to help with the transfer of the stocks. Ken Seth, who is
Armenian, was staying
57.
Page 3
on in Singapore and not going to leave like most of the POWs. Very few of the POWs are
staying on in Singapore, and those that did were not receiving any assistance from the
Government, whose policy was to get all the POWs and civilian internees out as soon as
possible. Anyone that stayed behind had to look after himself, and there was considerable
pressure brought to bear on them to try to make them go on leave immediately. They were
not provided with any accommodation or food, and getting clothes, food, and somewhere to
live were very difficult problems. I had the idea at one time that I could do a good job of
work in helping to get things going in Singapore before I went on leave. This was quite
contrary to the declared policy of the Military Administration. I cannot help but feel that the
men who got out when the war started, and have now come back as Brigadiers and Colonels,
were anxious to keep a clear field for themselves. Several of my contemporaries are now
Colonels, and I think they want to stay Colonels as long as possible. My own view is that the
sooner we have the Military Administration out the better. They look like hanging on until
about April next. I went to see some of these fellows and it was amusing to notice that the
first thing they did was to look at one's shoulders. On the quiet, all these ex-Malayans were
more interested in re-starting their own businesses than they were in getting down to their job
of distributing food and clothing to the distressed natives. I did not like the tone of things one
little bit. I am sure that when the time comes to hand over to Civil Govt. there will be very
little to show for the 6 months of military administration. Many of the Chinese
Page 4
staff of Guthrie were 'working' at the British Military Administration office. I went to see
them and found that all but one of them had come through. It was rather amusing to see the
rows and rows of Chinese clerks and salesmen sitting at their desks doing absolutely nothing.
They had every other afternoon off and did nothing all day but sit at their desks and wait for
instructions that never came. Mr Horne was frequently in town, and I used to meet him at the
GH café. He had sent a cable to Guthries for instructions and we were daily waiting for the
reply. Even after a fortnight there was no reply, and this made it very difficult for us to
proceed with our other plans. All the other firms had been getting to work on their plans, and
it gave our Chinese staff a bad impression for Guthries to be so dilatory. Old Song Kheng,
the cashier, took me to dinner twice, and I went to his home, too. He kept pressing gifts on
me which I could not refuse. I hope that the firm is going to stand by the Asiatic staff, who
on the whole are a very loyal body. Hun Swee appeared to be the exception. Song Kheng
told me that he had been 'liquidated' by the guerrillas as a collaborator. Mr Horne was
working on the storing of the cargo of the 'mercy ship' the 'Admiral Chase'. This ship was full
of goods donated by the Australian Red Cross, to the value of £750,000. The goods were
actually intended for the relief of POWs and internees but, as most of these had already been
evacuated, the goods were to be distributed to the Asiatic population. Some of the things
included in the shipment were not very suitable, as they included such articles as silk
stockings and toothpaste, but I know that the generosity of the Australian people was very

much appreciated. Mr Horne told me that he had a great deal of trouble with coolies stealing
from the cases as they were unloading, and even from the paratroops who were supposed to
be guarding the goods. They were stealing the toothpaste and selling it for as much as $8.00
a tube (19 shillings).
58.
Page 5
Any coolie wearing boots would be a suspect. They found one with eight tubes of toothpaste
inside each boot. The coolies were paid only $1.20 a day, which was not enough for them to
live on, so there was some excuse for them to steal, but none for the paratroops. All around
the hospital there were houses in which there were stored Japanese supplies. Paratroops were
put to guard these stores but, instead of guarding them, they sold the stores to the Chinese
round about. The practice was to let the Chinese into the store and charge them according to
the length of time they stayed inside. Once the Chinese had gone, the paratroops would loose
off a volley of shots, and when the officer came to investigate they would say that there had
just been looters at work. They sold the entire contents of one store in this manner. I should
add here that the paratroops in question were Australian and had never seen active service.
They lived just down the road from the hospital and were a constant source of trouble.
It will be obvious from the foregoing that a great deal of the commercial activity of Singapore
was connected with the black market. During the Japanese occupation, I understood from our
Chinese clerks, the main means of making a living was from black market operation. Nearly
all of our clerks had earned their living in this manner. One, however, Quay Tau, had turned
his attention to fishing. He found this to be less strain on the nerves than black marketeering,
also he was able to provide food for his family. I like Quay Tau very much, and think this
action of his shows both sense and honesty. A few, but very few, of the Chinese of this type
were in the underground movement against the Nips. Most of the guerrilla work was done by
the Chinese Communists. It is rather odd to remember that the Malayan Communist Party
was banned until the day that the war broke out against Japan. Then they raised a force of
Chinese Communists to fight the Nips, which they called Dalforce after the leader Daley.
This unit fought very bravely and was, we heard, killed almost to a man. There were about
1,000 of them. The Chinese I talked to had varying estimates of the number of Chinese killed
by the Nips when they rounded up the civil population immediately after the fall of
Singapore. Some said 100,000 others 150,000. Personally I find it very difficult to believe
that more than, say, 20,000 would have been liquidated. This is a very difficult matter to
verify but
Page 6
Ong Boon, whose judgement I respect, said that he thought possibly one-tenth of the Chinese
had been put to death. This would give a total of 50,000. Judging from the family losses of
those I spoke to, nothing like a tenth of the population had been put to death. Perhaps the
chief losses had occurred amongst a different class of Chinese society. Singapore looked
very over-crowded whilst I was there. Probably because it was there that the first free food
issues would be made. The most distressed natives that I saw were the poor Javanese coolies
that the Nips had brought over to work when there was a shortage of labour, due to the large
numbers sent up to work on the railway with us. They were all suffering from starvation and
were covered with sores like we were up in the jungle. The other Asiatics obviously did
nothing to help them and, as they were in a strange country, it was natural that they should
become distressed. I was glad to see that the British Military Administration collected these

wrecks, and gave them hospital treatment and food. These are the same Indonesians that such
a lot is heard of today.
Knowing of the political trouble in Java, I attempted to assess the feeling in Singapore as
regards the same matter. From talks I had with some quite prominent Chinese and Indians, I
came to the conclusion that there was very little wish to leave British protection. The more
honest of those I spoke to, said that they wished for Britain's return because it meant that they
could trade in safety.
The Malayan Union was generally welcomed, although some wondered why the Settlements
were not included in it. I was of the opinion that the reason was that Britain wished to retain
actual sovereignty over the S.S. for purposes of defence. I am glad that the power of the
Malay sultans will be limited in the future. They did not show much loyalty to us during the
campaign against the Nips. This is the big chance for the Chinese to obtain fuller control in
the rule of the country. In the past they have been penalised in favour of the Malays. The
Malays have always proved to be a worthless lot, and if they do not pull themselves together,
they will be crowded right out by the more energetic Chinese. There was previously a pro-
Malay policy adopted by the Malayan Govt., which was not popular amongst the commercial
people and it looks now as if this policy is to be dropped. The commercial people can now
say, 'We told you so'.
59.
Page 7
Many were the arguments that I had with Tony Mills, and others of the Malay Civil Service,
on the point whether we were controlling Malaya for the benefit of the Malays or for our own
benefit. My argument ran that, as the development of the country by construction of
railways, roads and the opening up of jungle areas for rubber and other products brought
greater comfort and material benefit to the Malays, we were quite justified in retaining
political control of the country. If the development of the country were left in the hands of
the Malays, there would have been none of the things I have mentioned. The argument of the
MCS wallahs was that the original treaties with the Sultans had merely been for the protection
of the country by Britain, in return for which we got certain trading preference. They argued
that, once the Malays were in a position to do all the offices of Govt. themselves, we were
morally bound to clear out. They denied the motive of self-interest altogether. I said that this
was hypocritical, as it was perfectly obvious that Britain would never saddle herself with the
responsibility of protecting a country which meant nothing to her. As a dig in the ribs I used
to remind the MCS boys that their salaries were paid by the proceeds from the 'exploitation'
of Malaya. This did not go down too well as a rule but it is perfectly true, I think. I rather
envy the MCS people their disregard for the necessity for making a profit out of trading in the
country (exploiting it). It is rather a comfortable thought to feel that one is working in a
country solely for the benefit of other people and that, after a career devoted to the limiting of
the depredations of Big Business, one can retire to Budleigh Salterton on a pension which is
underwritten by those same Big Business interests. This is the whole crux of the matter to my
way of thinking. The ordinary commercial man has to make money whilst the going is good
and hope to save enough for his retirement, whilst the civil servant is not bothered with the
problem of making money at all. He knows that when he is 55 years old, that the Govt. will
pension him handsomely. There are a certain number of careerists amongst the MCS who
trim their sails to whatever wind of Govt policy is blowing at the moment, but the majority
are content to go along in a quiet and unobtrusive manner. I like Tony Mills very much, but I
do think that he will have to weigh the merits of the case for the inhabitants of Malaya against

60.
Page 8
those of the developers (exploiters) of Malaya. At the present time the scales are weighted
heavily in favour of the natives of the country. Of the MCS men I met I found that Bill
Goode was the one with the keenest appreciation of the full matter. I think that I gave Tony a
clearer insight into the case for commercial interests but I could not tell Bill Goode anything
about this point of view. He had spent one of his leaves going around the offices of the big
Malayan merchant houses and he was able to appreciate their point of view. He had a very
clear brain and was able to expound subjects such as the Exchange Control system in a way
that was admirable. I would give him a very good chance of ending as a Governor of a
Colony ... perhaps Malaya. Bill's one failing is that he has an uncertain temper. Tony has a
most equable temperament but not a great deal of ambition ... definitely not a careerist. He
has, however, one of the best brains that I have ever come across. He took a First in Classics
at Cambridge and has consequently an academic brain, but I think his experience as a POW
has made him a very much more practical man. I think he was probably the best scrounger in
our kongsi! His chief failing has been that he lacks the 'common touch'. Again, his
experience as a POW will have helped him. He was the most highly principled man I met as
a POW. This was quite compatible with his reputation as a scrounger as he never would
scrounge anything to which there was a good title held by someone else. Tony showed up
particularly well in the Tamajan bombing, when he, with Llewellyn and Hugh Shelton-
Palmer, organised the rescue work after the Dutch doctor and Bouncer Robertson, the officer,
had run away. We Volunteers were very proud that the rescue work on this occasion was
done by the initiative of three Volunteers. There were a number of 9th Coast men on the train
at this time and the relations with them changed somewhat after that. You could tell that they
had a good deal of respect for the Volunteers for the way in which they had behaved. There
was still the same slanging off of each other but in a more friendly spirit. They still referred
to the Volunteers as Vultures but it was almost a mark of affection.
There is little more to add to this record, but I will conclude with a few comments on
Singapore as it appeared to me after the surrender.
Page 9
When we flew over the island on our way down from Bangkok, we saw at once that much of
the rubber had been cut down and vegetable gardening started. To me, this is a good thing.
Too much of the food consumed in Singapore had to be brought in before the war. Tapioca
was the principle article of diet of the Singapore people during the Japanese occupation.
There were few cars on the roads, and those that there were seemed to be on their last legs.
There was a new means of conveyance, termed a tri-shaw, that was made by attaching a sidecar
to a bicycle. These were pedalled about for hire by the Chinese, usually boys of 15 to 20.
They are safer and quicker that rickshaws and I hope they will ultimately replace rickshaws.
They are not so hard to operate as the rickshaws. These tri-shaws were introduced by the
enterprising Chinese, and represent, I think, one of the good results of the Japanese
occupation.
Raffles, Sea View, Adelphi, Oranje and Goodwood Park Hotels were occupied by British
Military Administrative staff. There was very little social life and one never saw 'boys'
running around with drinks and a carefree crowd drinking and dancing. There were a few

entertainments for the troops put on by the ENSA people. I saw one of these at Raffles, and it
was terribly amateurish. Exactly the same show was put on at the hospital for the POW
patients. The best turn was a card manipulator.
The cinemas were open and, if one could put up with the heat as there were no fans or airconditioning,
one could see a good show. I saw 'In Which We Serve' at the Cathay.
The cabarets did a tremendous business and in the amusement parks there were many stalls
selling black market goods. There was very little beer for sale in the cabarets and no spirits.
Tiger Beer was being sold at $3 a small bottle - say 7 shillings. There were many patrons in
the cabarets from the paratroops units - who brought their own whiskey and other drinks.
61.
Page 10
The most serious material damage had been done in the docks by Allied bombing on Nov. 5th
1944. About a quarter of the godowns had been flattened.
The Nips had used Raffles Hotel as an officers club and made alterations that I think were an
improvement.
The main streets were quite clean but the back streets were very dirty. Nips were put to work
to clean up the mess. About 700 Nips daily were working in the city. This out of 65,000,
which seemed not enough to me.
The majority of the Nips were living in Johore but there were small camps of them in rubber
estates on the island. I saw a party of these when I went out to see Ong Boon Seng's estate
one Sunday. These Nips were very respectful to me, but it was rather a nuisance having to
return their salute every minute or so. They were not guarded and appeared to be having an
easy time. I saw some having a bath using soap and could not help thinking that they were
much better off than they had any right to expect. They were well dressed and appeared well
fed. Ong Boon Seng told me that they had big stocks of cloth, which they bartered with the
people round about for cigarettes and extra food. In Bun Bee's shop I met an officer of the
RASC who told me what the Nips were getting as rations. They were getting tinned milk,
which seemed absurd when it was impossible for the civilians in Singapore to get it. I saw
other Nips carrying away the cases full of Japanese Military currency to be destroyed. They
looked very dejected and were bare-footed. They did not salute me but I took no notice. I
hope they will give the Nips plenty of work to do - it is what they understand. They
understand harsh discipline and being compelled to do unpleasant tasks. I have a feeling that
we shall treat them too kindly. The maximum amount of work, the minimum amount of food,
good medical treatment, plenty of restrictions to liberty and bags of propaganda would be my
programme for them. If they do not get enough to do they become uppish. They are
probably the world's best subjects for propaganda.
Page 11
The Chinese in Singapore were anxious that the collaborators should be arrested quickly and
complained that many very prominent collaborators were still permitted to remain free. There
were plenty of people willing to act as informers but the authorities were very dilatory in
taking action on the information received. I believed that the authorities were wise in not
being too precipitate in making arrests. It was not possible for the culprits to get away and

evidence against them would accumulate until the case for making an arrest would be
watertight. Whilst I was in Singapore they were concentrating on rounding up the Japanese
war criminals. These were put into Changi Jail, which had been used so recently as a prison
camp for British civilians. Most of the head Nips were put into Changi jail. The Koreans
were in a separate camp and were, I believe, treated better than the Japanese. I could not see
the reason for this. In Bangkok, on the other hand, the Koreans were the first to be rounded
up.
Lee Choon Seng, proprietor of the Thye Hong Biscuit Co., Thye Hin & Co, Thye Ann
Investment Co., was named to me as a collaborator. If this is so, and he is charged, then one
of our biggest business connections will be severed. I expect that Chua Poh Chuah would
take over the business. I saw Poh Chua several times and he was as friendly as ever. We had
tiffin together and he wanted me to do things for him in Australia. At the time of writing
there are extensive strikes in Australia and quite impossible to do any export business. I see
no possibility of doing any business down here for a long time. The home demand is not
satisfied and most firms will not look at export business. This is the greatest chance that
Australia has ever had of capturing export markets and I think they will let the opportunity
slip. My impressions of Australians are that they do not make the best of their opportunity to
progress. They are not exactly lazy - they just do enough to ensure a comfortable living, and
they do not care for the rest. With another ten million population, Australia would become
one of the big nations of the world - as it is, it is a very small nation with big ideas of its
importance. They all say that they want more people, and yet they refuse to admit that, with a
great increase in immigration, there would have to be a temporary setback in the general
standard of living. I think that one possible solution to their problem would be to use the Nip
62.
Page 12
prisoners to do irrigation work in the Northern Territory. There would be no need to give
them a great measure of freedom and when the work was finished after ten or fifteen years
they could be sent back to Japan. After the irrigation work the country could take in many
more settlers than it can at present. The Nips would rather stay in Australia than go back to
Japan because in Japan they are looked down upon for having lost the war. The Nip prisoners
in Singapore were not at all keen to go back to Japan.
This will end my journal until I come home when I shall probably rewrite the whole of it.

"B" Battalion .................................................................................................................................................. 22, 24
"B" Company ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
"Bludgers" ............................................................................................................................................................ 32
"D" Battalion .................................................................................................................................................. 22, 26
"F" Battalion....................................................................................................................................... 22, 24, 26, 30
"Hellfire" Corner .................................................................................................................................................. 26
"Speedo"................................................................................................................................................... 24, 26, 49
"Thinkers", The .................................................................................................................................................... 43
"U" Battalion (Australians) ............................................................................................................................ 24, 25
"Vultures" (Volunteers)........................................................................................................................................ 61
122 Field Regt. RA............................................................................................................................................... 11
18th Division (British).......................................................................................................................................... 10
2/20 Battn. Australian Imperial Force .................................................................................................................. 10
9th Coast Regiment ...................................................................................................... 6, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, 48, 61
Argyll Regiment....................................................................................................................................... 10, 18, 53
Atomic bomb........................................................................................................................................................ 51
Australia ..................................................................................................................................... 6, 9, 17, 18, 55, 63
Avitaminosis ward (Nakom Patom) ..................................................................................................................... 38
Baker, Samuel Cecil ("Sam") SRA(V) (Gunner) ................................................................................................... 7
Ban Phong ................................................................................................................................................ 18, 19, 24
Bangkok ................................................................................................... 29, 31, 34, 36, 46, 47, 52, 53, 54, 61, 63
Banner, [?Leonard Alexander SRA(V) "D" Bn.]................................................................................................ 21
Barnett, Maj.......................................................................................................................................................... 51
Batu Pahat ........................................................................................................................................................ 8, 10
Beach Road, Singapore ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Beatings............................................................................................................................ 13, 15, 23, 25, 26, 29, 31
Bed bugs......................................................................................................................................................... 32, 37
Bennett, Capt........................................................................................................................................................ 41
Bennett, Lieutenant Peter [?Paul] Johnson, 1 st Bn, SSVF (Guthries & Co.).................................................... 6, 25
Bennett, Major (RAMC) ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Beohm, Bdr Arthur [?Sgt Alan G. 1 st Bn. SSVF] .................................................................................................. 7
Berg, Norman ....................................................................................................................................................... 55
Black market (see also Rackets)......................................................................................................... 12, 56, 59, 62
Blenheim bombers.................................................................................................................................................. 6
Bofor guns........................................................................................................................................................ 8, 10
Bourke, Father [Capt. G.M. 4 th Bn, SSVF] .............................................................................................. 20, 33, 53
Boyer, ................................................................................................................................................................... 53
Boyes, Dick [Boys, R.C, 1 st Bn., SSVF "S" Support Company].................................................. 13, 14, 16, 17, 19
Brewster Buffaloes............................................................................................................................................. 8, 9
Brice, George ....................................................................................................................................................... 43
British Military Administration, Singapore.................................................................................................... 58, 60
Brodie, Major [?W.H. 3 rd Bn, SSVF Medical Detachment]........................................................................... 27, 31
Brown, Geoffrey (Volunteer)............................................................................................................................... 21
Brown, Jimmy [?James, FMSVF, 1 st Bn. Perak/2 M.I.B. Sthn Area. "D" Bn.] .................................................. 46
Bukit Timah.......................................................................................................................................................... 10
Bukom .................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Bun Bee (Singapore) ...................................................................................................................................... 58, 62
Burchinall, "Tich" ................................................................................................................................................ 28
Butler, Bdr............................................................................................................................................................ 29
Butterfield, L/Bdr Charles [?2/Lieutenant Charles Harris, SSVF att. 16 Defence Regt. RA].......................... 7, 11
Camps
Bangkok, Thailand ........................................................................................................................................... 47
Bridge Camp, Thailand .............................................................................................................................. 22, 26
Changi, Singapore ............................................................................................................................ 9, 12, 29, 63
Chungkai, Thailand ................................................................................................................................ 7, 19, 21
Farrer Park, Singapore...................................................................................................................................... 12
Havelock Road, Singapore............................................................................................................................... 17
Hintock River, Thailand ............................................................................................................................. 12, 26
63.

Kanu 2, Thailand ........................................................................................................................................ 25, 26
Kanu/Kanyu River, Thailand ................................................................................................................. 6, 24, 25
Kinsyo [Kinsayok], Thailand ............................................................................................. 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 44
Kranji Singapore .............................................................................................................................................. 13
Lopburi, Thailand............................................................................................................................................. 48
Nakom Patom/Nakon Phatom, Thailand ............................ 21, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 52, 55
Non Pladuk, Thailand....................................................................................................................................... 31
River Valley Road, Singapore...................................................................................... 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 30
Takuri, Thailand ................................................................................................................................... 46, 48, 52
Tamuan, Thailand..................................................................................................... 6, 21, 36, 42, 43, 44, 46, 48
Tarso Base Hospital, Thailand ................................................................................................. 24, 31, 33, 34, 35
Tengah, Singapore............................................................................................................................................ 13
Tonchan Central, Thailand ................................................................................................................... 24, 26, 41
Tonchan South, Thailand. .......................................................................................................................... 22, 24
Tonchan, Thailand...................................................................................................................................... 26, 31
Wampo North, Thailand................................................................................................................................... 21
Wampo, Thailand ....................................................................................... 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 43, 48, 51
Carr, Capt. Ernest, RA.......................................................................................................................................... 11
Cattle .............................................................................................................................................................. 27, 52
Chinese (POW) .................................................................................................................................................... 24
Chinese civilian deaths (Singapore) ..................................................................................................................... 59
Churchill, Winston ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Civil war - Thais and Chinese .............................................................................................................................. 53
Clarke, .................................................................................................................................................................. 27
Coates, Lt. Col (AIF) surgeon.................................................................................................................. 35, 38, 42
Colchester, L/Bdr "Tiffy" [2/Lieutenant Cecil Francis, 2 nd Bn., SSVF att. 16 Defence Regt. RA] ....................... 7
Coleman, (Anglo-Thai) ....................................................................................................................................... 37
Coleman, Taffy..................................................................................................................................................... 28
Coltart, Lt. Gilbert McCallum 'Tiger'. SRA(V)................................................................................... 7, 11, 12, 42
Communists.................................................................................................................................................... 56, 59
Cooper, (Guthrie & Co.) [?Lieut.Commander Leonard Lawton, RNVR (Singapore)].......................................... 9
Cooper, The Rt Hon. Alfred Duff Cooper, DSO, MP. Resident Minister of State, Singapore ............................. 8
Cox, Jack (118 Field Rgt. RA) (London & Scottish Assurance) ................................................................... 34, 52
Crabb, C.S.M. Charles Henry, 1 st Bn., SSVF. "D" Bn. (Fraser & Neave) ........................................................... 21
Craig, Lt. John Harcourt, MRNVR (Singapore) (Guthries & Co.) ...................................................... 7, 19, 25, 42
Craig, Pte William John ("Snuffy") (from Glasgow). Gordon Highlanders. 2876114 ................................. 27, 31
Craig, Sergeant Stanley Edwards , 1 st Bn., SSVF (Fraser & Neave) ................................................................... 36
Cully, Corp. Reg (AIF, Sydney)........................................................................................................................... 34
Cumming, Scott [Lt. Alistair Reginald Scott, FMSVF (Hadden & Co.)] ..............................................................9
Dakota aircraft................................................................................................................................................ 52, 55
Daley .................................................................................................................................................................... 59
Dalforce................................................................................................................................................................ 59
Davey, 9 th Coast Regiment................................................................................................................................... 20
Davy, "The Welshman" (Gunner) [?William Henry, SRA(V) (Colonial Education Service)].............................. 7
de Cruz, Sidney Joseph P., SASC (V)."D" Bn. ("Hawaiian Serenaders") ..................................................... 16, 29
De Vries.................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Death marches ...................................................................................................................................................... 52
Dickinson, John.................................................................................................................................................... 33
Diseases................................................................................................................................................................ 38
Appendicitis ..................................................................................................................................................... 21
Beriberi....................................................................................................................................................... 21, 31
Blackwater fever............................................................................................................................................... 49
'Broken Bottles' ................................................................................................................................................ 49
Cholera ................................................................................................................................. 6, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27
Dysentery ........................................................................... 19, 21, 22, 24, 27, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 48, 52, 54, 55
Impetigo ........................................................................................................................................................... 41
Jaundice............................................................................................................................................................ 42
Malaria ............................................................................................................. 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 31, 36, 38, 43
Malnutrition................................................................................................................................................ 24, 31
64.

Oedema............................................................................................................................................................. 38
Pellagra............................................................................................................................................................. 49
Pleurisy............................................................................................................................................................. 37
Pneumonia........................................................................................................................................................ 37
Ringworm......................................................................................................................................................... 41
Scabies........................................................................................................................................................ 31, 41
Smallpox........................................................................................................................................................... 52
Sweat sores....................................................................................................................................................... 49
TB..................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Ulcers ................................................................................................................................................... 31, 32, 37
Drugs .................................................................................................................... 19, 21, 24, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 52
Emetine....................................................................................................................................................... 31, 36
Morphine .......................................................................................................................................................... 31
Potassium permanganate ............................................................................................................................ 19, 49
Quinine..................................................................................................................................... 18, 19, 32, 33, 49
Sulphaguanidine ............................................................................................................................................... 55
Sulphonamide................................................................................................................................................... 37
Duff-Cooper ............................................................................................... See Cooper, The Rt Hon. Alfred Duff
Dunlop, Lt. Col. Ernest Edward. (Surgeon) (Australian Army Medical Corps., OC) .................................. 35, 39
Dutch ............................................................................................................................ 6, 26, 28, 39, 40, 47, 53, 61
End of the war ...................................................................................................................................................... 51
Entertainments
Books................................................................................................................................................................ 43
Bridge......................................................................................................................................................... 36, 44
Cards................................................................................................................................................................. 14
Choir................................................................................................................................................................. 43
Concerts.......................................................................................................................................... 28, 37, 39, 51
Co-Prosperity Sphere concert........................................................................................................................... 29
Discussions............................................................................................................................... 14, 34, 38, 39, 43
Lectures ...................................................................................................................................................... 37, 43
Library.................................................................................................................................................. 28, 32, 49
Quizzes............................................................................................................................................................. 37
Sports.................................................................................................................................................... 14, 28, 39
Esson, (Guthrie & Co.) [?Maj. H.W. 3 rd Bn. SSVF].............................................................................................. 9
Evacuation
Takuri camp to Bangkok (with the AIF) .......................................................................................................... 52
Takuri camp to Rangoon (British).................................................................................................................... 52
Transfer from Bangkok to Singapore............................................................................................................... 55
Evans, Thomas Heath (Tom), SRA(V) (Gunner). "Y" Bn. (Anglo Thai Corp.) ....................................... 7, 11, 42
Fay, Roy ............................................................................................................................................................... 52
Fifth Column .................................................................................................................................................... 8, 11
Fleming,................................................................................................................................................................ 53
Gahan, Bryan Herbert, FSMVF, 4 th Pahang Bn ."D" Bn. ................................................ 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 43
Gardiner, Porky .............................................................................................................................................. 43, 46
Gemas................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Ghurkhas .............................................................................................................................................................. 53
Gladman, Sgt. (Beds. & Herts)....................................................................................................................... 46, 47
Glendinning, [?Corp. A.L.L., SSVF. "D" Bn.] ................................................................................................... 25
Godber, John (Rowland John) (FMSVF Armoured Car Regt. "D" Bn.)......................... 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 43
Goetzee, (Fraser & Neave).................................................................................................................................. 57
Goode, Corporal Bill, SSVF, B Coy. (MCS) (Sir William A.C. GCMG) ..................................................... 24, 61
Gordon Highlanders ............................................................................................................... 12, 19, 25, 28, 35, 54
Gould [Goult], Cyril Hermes Weston (Hermes), SRA(V) (Gunner). "D" Bn. (Malaya Mail)........................... 24
Graham, D. ........................................................................................................................................................... 19
Gregg, Johnny [? Pilot Officer John Francis Fitzgerald, MVAF]........................................................................ 36
Griffith-Jones, Capt. Eric Newton, SSVF (Crown Counsel, Straits Settlement).................................................. 39
Griffiths, ............................................................................................................................................................... 46
Guards
"Arthur Askey" (Korean) ................................................................................................................................. 29
65.

Cheeba [?Chuba] (Korean)................................................................................................................... 22, 23, 44
Gumboil (Japanese).......................................................................................................................................... 13
Hoja (Japanese) ................................................................................................................................................ 13
Japanese................................................................................................................................................ 22, 29, 47
Korean ...................................................................................................................................... 15, 22, 28, 30, 47
Moriama (Japanese) ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Okajacki (Japanese).......................................................................................................................................... 13
Quara Quenara (Korean) ............................................................................................................................ 29, 30
'Rocking Horse', The (Korean)......................................................................................................................... 46
Shimozaki......................................................................................................................................................... 29
Sikh............................................................................................................................................................. 15, 17
Yuki (Korean) .................................................................................................................................................. 46
Gulliford, Maurice William, SRA(V) (Gunner). "D" Bn. (Guthries & Co.).................................... 14, 18, 42, 43
Gurkhas ................................................................................................................................................................ 12
Guthrie & Company ....................................................................................................... 6, 9, 11, 25, 55, 56, 57, 58
Hamilton,.............................................................................................................................................................. 24
Hancock, ?Slash ................................................................................................................................................... 29
Hardman, (Guthrie & Co.) ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Harris, (9th Coast Regiment)................................................................................................................................ 28
Hawley, Jerry. [Died of beatings, Kanchanaburi] ............................................................................................... 31
Helps, Harold Arthur Stafford, SRA(V) (Gunner). "D" Bn. (Fraser & Neave) ........................................ 7, 24, 37
Henley, Maj. [Robert Bryan Henly] SRA(V)...................................................................................................... 42
Hickey, Peter [?L/Corporal James Joseph, 1 st Bn., SSVF. "D" Bn.] (John Littles) ............................................. 24
Hinde, John (Harold John), 1 st Bn., SSVF, "D" Bn. (Patison Simons [?McAlisters]) ................................. 24, 46
HMAS Canberra..................................................................................................................................................... 6
HMS Prince of Wales......................................................................................................................................... 7, 8
HMS Repulse ..................................................................................................................................................... 7, 8
Hoops, L/Bombadier Richard Mostyn (Dick). 3 rd Bn. SSVF/SRA(V). "B" Force. "D" Bn...................... 7, 9, 11
Horne, Johnny (Guthrie & Co.)...................................................................................................... 9, 55, 56, 58, 59
Hospital
Diets (Tarso)..................................................................................................................................................... 32
Kinsyo, Thailand .............................................................................................................................................. 31
Nakom Patom, Thailand................................................................................................................................... 34
Tamuan, Thailand............................................................................................................................................. 42
Tarso Base Hospital, Thailand ......................................................................................................................... 31
Hospital records.................................................................................................................................................... 38
Hough, Graham Goulder, SRA(V). Prof. (Gunner). (Lecturer, English; Raffles College) ................ 7, 11, 12, 43
Hugonin, Col. ....................................................................................................................................................... 28
Hun Swee ............................................................................................................................................................. 58
Hutchinson, (Volunteer)....................................................................................................................................... 25
Indian 7th Division............................................................................................................................................... 10
Ipoh .................................................................................................................................................................. 8, 29
Isdale, Jock........................................................................................................................................................... 48
James, Bill ............................................................................................................................................................ 29
Japanese Officers
"Farmer Giles".................................................................................................................................................. 48
"Tamuan Charlie" (Works sergeant) ................................................................................................................ 48
"Tiger", The (Japanese Sgt Maj, S. Tonchan) ...................................................................................... 23, 24, 30
Hattori (Wampo) .................................................................................................................................. 21, 26, 30
Japanese prisoners ................................................................................................................................................ 62
Japanese war criminals......................................................................................................................................... 63
Jennings, Bdr Charles............................................................................................................................................. 7
Johnston, Lt. Douglas Alexander, ("Johnny") SRA(V). (McAlisters) .................................................... 25, 33, 42
Johore ............................................................................................................................................................. 10, 62
Joo Kee (Singapore) ............................................................................................................................................. 58
Kallang Aerodrome .................................................................................................................................... 9, 10, 11
Kanchanaburi, Thailand ......................................................................................................... 18, 19, 24, 30, 31, 49
Kanu ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Kempeis................................................................................................................................................................ 38
66.

Kempeitai ............................................................................................................................................................. 56
Kennedy, L/Bombadier [Leslie Howard, SRA(V)]............................................................................................ 7, 8
Kennedy, Pat ........................................................................................................................................................ 43
Keyser [Keyzar], Lt. George Shrimpton, SRA(V). "D" Bn. ................................................................................ 42
Kota Bahru ............................................................................................................................................................. 8
Kuala Lumpur .................................................................................................................................................... 6, 8
Lamb, [?James Henry, 1 st Bn. SSVF. "D" Bn. (Rubber planter)] ....................................................................... 24
Lang, (Volunteer)................................................................................................................................................ 29
Lee Choon Seng ................................................................................................................................................... 63
Leeches................................................................................................................................................................. 50
Lewis gun ............................................................................................................................................................... 6
Liberator aircraft (American) ......................................................................................................................... 33, 36
Lilley, Lt/Col. Harold [Lilly], 1 st /5 th Territorial Bn. Sherwood Foresters. "D" Bn. .................... 21, 26, 44, 51, 52
Lister engine........................................................................................................................................................... 7
Llewellyn, Hugh Gwilym Carysfoot, 1 st Bn., SSVF. "D" Bn. (Asiatic Phone Company) ............................ 37, 61
Lock, Tony ..................................................................................................................................................... 42, 43
Lopburi................................................................................................................................................................. 48
Lopburi station ..................................................................................................................................................... 48
Loyal Regiment .............................................................................................................................................. 10, 17
LPK (Chinese businessman, Singapore) .............................................................................................................. 57
Lucas, ................................................................................................................................................................... 51
MacFarlane, Lt. Col., RAMC............................................................................................................................... 35
MacLeod, [?Aden McLeod, 1 st Bn. SSVF] .......................................................................................................... 21
MacNeill, [?Neil Francis Loudon McNeill, 1 st Bn., SSVF] ................................................................................. 19
Macomski, 9 th Coast Regiment............................................................................................................................. 20
Madge, Capt. (FMSVF) [?P.J., FMSVF, Pay & Records. (Neill & Bell)].......................................................... 33
Malay Civil Service.............................................................................................................................................. 60
Malaya.................................................................................... 6, 7, 8, 13, 15, 17, 19, 24, 28, 41, 44, 46, 55, 60, 61
Malayan Union..................................................................................................................................................... 60
Manchesters.......................................................................................................................................................... 12
McCubbin, [?D.M.R., SRA(V)]........................................................................................................................... 53
Mersing................................................................................................................................................................. 10
Miller Brothers
James Percival and Spencer Sydney: 1 st Bn. SSVF. "D" Bn........................................................................... 46
Mills, Sgt A.E. (Tony), 4 th Bn., SSVF. "D" Bn................................. 19, 21, 22, 33, 42, 43, 46, 48, 49, 52, 60, 61
Minam (?Menam) Kah Wei river......................................................................................................................... 18
Mitchell Brothers
Ian Harold, and Ronald Austin: 1 st Bn., SSVF Intelligence. "D" Bn. ............................................................. 46
Morrison, David. SRA(V) (Gunner). "D" Bn. (Ritchie & Bisset)..................................................................... 43
Moulton, Corp. Roy Alexander, MM, FMSVF, Armd.Car Regt. (Tronoh Tin Dredging) ................................. 35
Moxon, Gerard Joseph "Gerry", 1 st Bn., SSVF. "D" Bn. .................................................................................... 54
Muar ................................................................................................................................................................... 7, 8
Napier, Donald John, 1 st Bn. SSVF. "D" Bn. (Fraser & Neave) ........................................................................ 42
Nassim, Arnold E., SRA(V) (Gunner) ............................................................................................................. 7, 13
Neubronner,.......................................................................................................................................................... 29
News, The................................................................................................... 8, 11, 13, 20, 26, 28, 30, 31, 38, 44, 51
Newton, Capt. (C.O., Australian, Central Tonchan) ............................................................................................ 24
Non Pladuck ........................................................................................................................................................... 9
Northumberland Fusiliers..................................................................................................................................... 44
O'Connor, 9 th Coast Regiment.............................................................................................................................. 20
Officers, Behaviour of.......................................................................................... 12, 24, 27, 30, 32, 33, 41, 42, 51
O'Hare, Gerald (Jerry), FMSVF, Signal Bn. "D" Bn. (Planters Stores, KL)...................................................... 43
Omar..................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Ong Boon Seng (Singapore) .............................................................................................................. 56, 57, 59, 62
Oppenheim, L/Bombadier Alexander, SRA(V). (Prof. Maths, Raffles College)................................................ 25
Osbourne, Sgt. Maj. ("The Dragon") .................................................................................................................. 49
Padang Besar ........................................................................................................................................................ 15
Paeloe Bukom....................................................................................................................................................... 10
Page, Lincoln (Gunner). SRA(V). "D" Bn....................................................................... 7, 14, 19, 20, 22, 42, 43
67.

Pak Nam ............................................................................................................................................................... 36
Parkinson, [?Cyril Arthur, 1 st Bn. SSVF "B" Company. "D" Bn.]...................................................................... 25
Pasir Panjang........................................................................................................................................................ 13
Pass, Ginger.......................................................................................................................................................... 52
Pavillard, Capt Stanley S., MO 1 st Bn SSVF. "D" Bn....................................................................... 21, 31, 42, 46
Pearl Harbour ......................................................................................................................................................... 8
Pearson, Capt. Wilfred ("Fizzer") 5 th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery...................................................... 39
Pearson, Percy [John Peter] (FMSVF, Armd. Car Regt. "D" Bn.) (Borneo Co.).......................................... 31, 51
Penang .................................................................................................................................................. 8, 10, 33, 38
Pickard, Robert Henry 1/SSVF Bren Carrier Platoon. "D" Bn. (Wakefields) ................................................... 21
Pinkey (The Grove, Singapore)............................................................................................................................ 11
Poelau [Paeloe] Samboe....................................................................................................................................... 10
Pong [Boon Pong Sirivejjabhandu] (Thai agent, British Secret Service/Free Siamese Army)............................ 31
Potter, Joseph Bateman ("Joe"), SRA(V) (Gunner) (Guthrie & Co.)....... 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41
Pratchai..................................................................................................................................................... 51, 52, 53
Quay Tau.............................................................................................................................................................. 59
Rackets (see also Black Market) ........................................................................................................ 14, 24, 53, 54
Rae, Capt. Herbert John, SRA(V). "D" Bn. (McAlister & Co.)............................................................. 22, 23, 27
RAF ................................................................................................................................................................ 50, 55
Reay [Rea], James Taylor ("Jim"), 1 st Bn, SSVF. "D" Bn. (Malayan Civil Service; Police Magistrate)........... 24
Red Cross ....................................................................................................... 15, 18, 35, 36, 37, 42, 53, 55, 57, 58
Richardson, Dr ..................................................................................................................................................... 27
Rintoul, Bombadier David Edward, SRA(V). "D" Bn. (Chemist, ICI).............................................................. 43
Ritchie, Sgt Geoffrey Oscar, CQMS, SRA(V). (Nat. Cash Register Co. & Brinkman & Co.)............................. 7
Robertson, "Bouncer"........................................................................................................................................... 61
Robertson, Sgt George Campbell, FMSVF, 1 st Bn. Perak 2MIB Sthrn Area. "D" Bn........................................ 25
Robinson, [?K., SSVF SRA(V) (Gunner) (Singapore Harbour Board) (escaped S'pore)]................................... 12
Rochester, [?Arthur Clement, 3 rd Bn. SSVF. "D" Bn.] ....................................................................................... 25
Roden, .................................................................................................................................................................. 53
Rumours ......................................................................................................................................................... 38, 44
Rundle, "Uncle Bill" [?William Elford, 1 st Bn. SSVF "B" Company]................................................................. 25
Ryecroft, L/Bombadier A.J., SSVF SRA(V). (Asiatic Petroleum) (escaped S'Pore).................................... 11, 12
Sabine, N.W., SSVF SRA(V) (Gunner) (Audit Office) (escaped S'pore)............................................................ 12
Saigon................................................................................................................................................. 13, 26, 28, 52
Sainter, Lt. Col. IASC .................................................................................................................................... 35, 42
Saipan, Fall of ...................................................................................................................................................... 38
Sanderson, Capt.................................................................................................................................................... 23
Sangster, Jock (Gordon Highlanders) .................................................................................................................. 24
Saringeon[?], Arthur............................................................................................................................................. 42
Scheerder, L/Corp James A. "Jimmy" 1st Bn, SSVF "D" Co. "D" Bn (S'pore Cold Storage) ("Hawaiian
Serenaders") ..................................................................................................................................................... 29
Secret Service................................................................................................................................................. 31, 48
Selfridge, Gordon (Loyal Regt)............................................................................................................................ 17
Seremban.............................................................................................................................................................. 15
Seth, Kenneth Alfred, SRA(V) (Gunner) (Barrister) ........................................................................................... 58
Shelton-Palmer, L/Corp. Hugh Valentine, FMSVF, Armd Car Regt. "D" Bn. (Planter)................................... 61
Shenton Thomas..................................................................................................................................................... 8
Sherwood Foresters........................................................................................................................................ 21, 51
Silcock, L/Corp.(Prof.) Thomas H., SFS(V).................................................................................................. 25, 31
Simmonds, Stan (Red Cross, Singapore) (Gilbey's, Sydney)............................................................................... 57
Singapore.......................... 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 18, 19, 24, 27, 28, 30, 37, 41, 44, 46, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63
Alhambra Cinema....................................................................................................................................... 10, 11
Beach Road ...................................................................................................................................................... 10
Capitulation ...................................................................................................................................................... 11
Causeway ......................................................................................................................................................... 10
Cease Fire......................................................................................................................................................... 11
Drill Hall ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
Geylang Road..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Half Moon Street.............................................................................................................................................. 55
68.

Holland Village ................................................................................................................................................ 10
Hotels: Raffles, Sea View, Adelphi, Oranje and Goodwood Park................................................................... 62
Kranji................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Middle Road..................................................................................................................................................... 10
Singapore Harbour Board............................................................................................................................. 9, 10
Tengah Aerodrome........................................................................................................................................... 10
The Grove............................................................................................................................................... 7, 10, 11
Slim River............................................................................................................................................................... 8
Sly, 2/Lieut. Lawrence Pontifex ("Larry"), FMSVF Armd Car Rgt. (Guthrie & Co.).......................................... 6
Smith, Gunner (125 Field Regt) (died Nakom Patom)................................................................................... 33, 35
Song Kheng.................................................................................................................................................... 14, 58
SS Empress of Asia .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Stealing......................................................................................... 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 32, 35, 47, 53, 59
Stogden, John William SRA(V) (Gunner). "D" Bn............................................................................................... 7
Stonehewer, L/Sgt Richard Dalzell, FMSVF, 2 nd Bn. Selangor. "D" Bn. (Tanjong Malim Rubber)........... 38, 43
Street, Capt. (Beds. & Herts)................................................................................................................................ 35
Takuri ................................................................................................................................................................... 48
Tamajan.............................................................................................................................................. 32, 33, 45, 61
Tamakan Railway Bridge..................................................................................................................................... 45
Tamils......................................................................................................................... 15, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 49
Tarso......................................................................................................................................................... 18, 21, 22
Teng Kee (Singapore) .......................................................................................................................................... 58
Thackeray, [?Edward Llewellyn, FMSVF, Light Battery. "D" Bn. (Inspector of Machinery)]................... 46, 53
Thai army ............................................................................................................................................................. 48
Thompson, Lt. Kenneth Vincent ("Tommy", "Scruffy") 1 st Bn., SSVF; Pay Section (Derrick & Co.) ............... 33
Thornton, 2/Lieutenant Charles, FMSVF. (Guthrie & Co.) ................................................................................ 42
Thorpe, Padre (Australian Forces) ....................................................................................................................... 33
Todd, Ronny [?Ronald Bertram Rous, FMSVF, 2 nd Bn. Selangor, 2 M.I.B. "D" Bn. (HB & Co.)].................. 46
Toms, Harry [Lt. Henry J.C.K., SRA(V) (Mansfields)]....................................................................................... 42
Tonchan.......................................................................................................................................................... 25, 26
Tonga Trot............................................................................................................................................................ 49
Trading, River Valley Road ........................................................................................................................... 14, 17
Trincomalie .......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Vincent, [Herbert Laughland, SSVF Singapore Searchlight Bty. "D" Bn. (Fraser & Neave)] ........................... 57
Vincent, Wally ..................................................................................................................................................... 28
Volunteer Armoured Car Company ....................................................................................................................... 6
Wakeford, Robert ("Bob"), SRA(V) (Gunner). "D" Bn. (Wakeford & Lowndes) ............................................ 21
Walker, Bill [?SSRA(V)] (escaped S'pore).......................................................................................................... 12
Walker, Capt (SSVF) ..................................................................................................................................... 33, 42
Warden, Ken......................................................................................................................................................... 44
Water .................................................................................................................... 13, 15, 25, 33, 34, 37, 41, 47, 50
Water-divining ..................................................................................................................................................... 50
Watson, Aub......................................................................................................................................................... 55
Watts, Capt........................................................................................................................................................... 22
Webb, [?Charles George SRA(V) (Gunner). (Lecturer, Physics; Raffles College)]................................. 7, 11, 12
Well digging................................................................................................................................................... 50, 51
Weller, Lt. (Australian) ........................................................................................................................................ 29
Welsh, John , SRA(V) (Gunner). "D" Bn. ...................................................................................................... 7, 21
Whitehead, [Peter M. (Gunner) SRA(V). (Derrick & Co.)]............................................................................ 7, 11
Whiteside, Bill...................................................................................................................................................... 52
Wilde [Wild], Maj. Cyril...................................................................................................................................... 17
Wilson, William ................................................................................................................................................... 26
Winchester, (Gordon Highlanders) ...................................................................................................................... 35
Wireless.................................................................................................................. 8, 13, 20, 26, 30, 31, 38, 39, 44
Wiseman, George Graham Eugene, FMSVF, 45 Res. M.T. Coy. "D" Bn. (Bousteads).................................... 28
Wong .................................................................................................................................................................... 56
Woodcock, L/Bombadier Charles, SRA(V), "D" Bn. (Derricks)............................... 24, 42, 43, 46, 48, 49, 51, 52
Woodhams, Charles.............................................................................................................................................. 28
Woods, Sgt Lawrence R. 'Laurie' SRA(V). "D" Bn ............................................................................................ 21
69.

Wright, Bertie [Barry James] 3 rd Bn, SSVF (Anglo Thai Corp.) ............................................................ 32, 33, 45
Yasumé............................................................................................................................................... 14, 20, 24, 28
Young, Capt. W.B., FMSVF att Malay Regt, RAMC.............................................................................. 46, 49, 51
Zero fighter aircraft (Japanese) ...................................................................................................................... 36, 50
Zuzatti [Zuzarte], Gonsalo, 1 st Bn. SSVF "D" Co. "D" Bn. ("Hawaiian Serenaders") .................................... 29
70.